Lost Dream Awakened
by Dashistna
Summary: Although everything seems great for our young Viking hero, he wishes he could've handled everything better. After falling down a tunnel alleged to be the door to the past, he thinks he may have the chance to do just that. Takes place after Defenders of Berk, very shortly before Race to the Edge. There's a "trailer" for this on YouTube: /watch?v EBqw7Ue3aHs
1. Chapter 1

The late afternoon sun glinted off the water. Far below me, I could hear the surf crashing against the base of the sea stack. I dangled my legs over the edge, knocking my feet against the sheer rock cliff. My boot made a gentle bumping sound. My metal prosthetic attached to the other leg clanged quietly against the stone.

I sighed, pulling my leg up and looking at the prosthetic. I had long since learned to walk on it as well as my own foot. But still… it would never feel the same.

A fishing boat sailed slowly around the tip of the island, far in the distance. Berk's ships were another thing that would never be the same, at least not for many years. Even though over three years had passed since the Red Death had annihilated the fleet, we had not yet restored it to its former glory. We hadn't been overrun by our enemies, because we had our dragons. But someday, our enemies might get dragons of their own. Several had tried. And when they succeeded, we would need to be ready with every kind of weapon that they might have. And that includes ships. It would be several more years before our fleet got as great as it once was, and it would cost vast amounts of gold. My head throbbed as I thought about it.

It was all my fault. If only I had managed to warn everyone. Instead, I let them almost die.

As the years had passed, I was managing the guilt well. It only rarely bothered me, because it had all seemed to work out, now that the dragons were among us. But for the past several weeks, it had been getting to me.

I struggled to keep my eyes in focus as I stared back down at my metal leg. I probably lost my foot as punishment for my foolishness.

In frustration, I buried my face in my hands. "Why did I have to be so stupid?" I groaned. I left my people vulnerable to attack. I almost killed them, I almost killed Toothless, I almost –

Just then, Toothless rested his head on my shoulder and coo'd. He felt comforting.

"Hey, Bud," I murmured. I reached up and patted his head.

"There you are!" a shout came from above. My heart fluttered as I heard that voice.

Astrid.

She swooped down on Stormfly and jumped off. "We've been looking all over Berk for you."

"I've been here," I said, trying to make myself look bright and smiley.

"Hiccup, what's wrong?" she asked. "You've been slipping off all the time these past couple of weeks. You never talk much anymore, and you're clearly faking that smile. What's bothering you?"

"B- bothering me? Nothing's – nothing's bothering..." My voice trailed off as she knelt down and touched my hand. For a warrior strong and fierce, her hand was so soft. I turned and looked her in the eyes. I blinked my own eyes, trying to focus on hers. Blue-gray in color, they were framed by her blonde bangs. I felt like I could gaze into her eyes all day.

"Hiccup, what's wrong?" she asked.

"Wrong?" I asked. I tried to remember what we were talking about.

She smiled a little at my confusion. Her lips were soft, too, and such a pretty pink…

I looked down. It was the only way I'd be able to think.

"It's just… everything's my fault."

"Everything? What do you mean?"

"The fleet is small. We're vulnerable to enemies. All the warriors almost died fighting the Red Death."

"Hiccup… that's been bothering you all these years?"

I shook my head. "No… just the past couple of weeks."

"It all worked out," she said. "It wasn't a great situation, but we came out stronger. We would never have accepted dragons living with us if it weren't for that."

I shook my head. "It would have worked. It would have happened either way."

She stood up. "So it happened the way it did. It worked out, and we all agree that it's better now. Everything you did, you did to protect all of us. Besides, why are you thinking about this now, if you haven't all these years before?"

"I don't know. It's just… remember that time a few weeks ago, when I fell off Toothless and hit the academy's wall really hard?" She nodded, so I continued. "As I hit the wall, it all came back into my head. I haven't been able to shake it since. I messed up. I really messed up."

I shook my head, feeling a little dizzy. It must be the headache I was giving myself from looking at the sun glinting off the water. I looked back up at her, willing the butterflies in my stomach to settle down as I saw her eyes again. "So why have you been looking for me?"

"Fishlegs found something, in one of the caves. He wants you to see it."

"Well, let's go," I said, climbing onto Toothless's back. "Race you!" Toothless sprang forward into full speed. I could barely hear Astrid call, "Hey, no fair!"

Toothless and I flew and within a minute, had circled the island to where the cliffs were. We slowed down, waiting for Astrid to catch up. A Nadder is fast, but can't quite compare to a Night Fury.

As Astrid approached, I called, "So which cave is it?"

"Follow me," she responded. She and Stormfly spiraled down to a cave halfway up a cliff in the forest.

We followed her down and Toothless landed gently, as if he knew I had a headache. "Thanks, Bud," I whispered.

I followed Astrid into the cave. It was pitch black inside. "Hey, Toothless, give us some light?" I asked.

Toothless let out a weak plasma blast which lit a lantern I pulled out of his saddlebag.

Astrid led us around a few corners. The temperature started getting a little cooler, although not much – even now, in midsummer, Berk didn't get very hot. After a few minutes of walking, we came to Fishlegs, Snotlout, and the twins gathered around a part of the cave wall. There was a narrow gap in the floor right next to them; it was so small, I doubted that most people could fit through.

"What's up, Fishlegs?" I asked, walking over to them.

"Check this out, Hiccup," Fishlegs said excitedly. "These are some ancient runes here, probably from before people first permanently settled on Berk. This is the historical find of the decade! This is astounding! This is –"

"Boring!" yawned Snotlout. "At least until you _tell us what it says_!"

"May I?" I asked. Fishlegs nodded and moved to the side so I could get a closer look.

I knelt down so I could see closer. The runes looked a little blurry. It must have been the dim light. I couldn't quite make them out.

"It's an old form of the language," Fishlegs explained. "I think I've been able to translate them."

"Well, what does it say?"

Fishlegs, not wanting to risk touching the stone with his hands, used a sword's tip to trace the shapes of the runes as he read the ancient words, "'The history of our actions need not be our fate. We can overcome it. On this remote isle we have found they key – the key to changing the past.'" My jaw dropped as he continued. "'Through this narrow tunnel lies the door to the past. Slide through it… and change your fate.'"

"The door… to the past?" I asked. "How is that possible?"

"I don't know," shrugged Tuffnut. "But those doors are kinda sly, always sneaking up on you."

We all stared at Tuffnut for a few seconds. Then Fishlegs answered, "I don't think it is, Hiccup. It sounds like some of our legends, an old wives' tale."

"That could be..." I mused, my voice trailing off.

A loud rumble came from somewhere in the cave. Astrid grabbed her ax, ready to fight. Snotlout stood at the ready as he grabbed his knife.

"Sorry, just my stomach," Tuffnut laughed.

"Yeah, his stomach always does that at dinnertime," Ruffnut explained.

"Dinner? Sounds good," Snotlout said.

"Is it that time already?" Fishlegs asked. "Where has the day gone?"

"My parents will be worried if I'm not back soon," Astrid said. "I've got to go."

"Me, too," Fishlegs said. He shivered. "I don't want to be caught outside after dark. Things _happen_ after dark."

I stayed where I was. "You guys go ahead. I'll catch up later."

Astrid hesitated. The darkness still made it hard to see clearly, but I could see her worried expression. "Hiccup… are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'll be- I'll be fine. Don't worry about me."

"I wouldn't think of doing anything," Fishlegs warned, handing me the sword. "There's no evidence that the thing's real, no evidence that it's safe, and no evidence that it would make things even better. We don't even know if it would bring you back in your current form, or back as you were, or if you would remember things or forget them."

"So..." I figured, "you're saying that if someone went back through that – hypothetically, of course – they might not remember that time had passed?"

"No. Because time wouldn't have passed."

"Hmm. Interesting."

"You're not going to try anything stupid, are you?" Astrid asked.

"Me? Stupid?" I asked nervously. "Nah, I'll just- I'll just study these runes for a little while. Then I'll catch up with you."

"Well… alright," she agreed reluctantly. "Just send Terror mail if you need anything."

"You know I will!" I assured her, waving as they left.

I looked back at the runes, tracing their shapes gently with the sword, and listened until I was sure they had left the cave. My head pounded as I thought hard about a plan.

I might not remember… how could I make sure history was shifted? So I wouldn't have put anyone in danger… so I wouldn't have wrecked most of the fleet… so I wouldn't have lost my leg?

I might not remember… I might not know to change things. How could I make sure I did?

No. No, I couldn't do this. Astrid was right; it all worked out.

The runes looked more and more blurry. I shook my head to try to clear my vision. All it did was make me dizzy. I turned and stepped toward Toothless. I pulled my canteen from the saddlebag, taking a slow sip of water. That felt nice.

Still holding the canteen, I started pacing the rough cave floor, at war with myself. I couldn't do this, I couldn't –

My metal leg slipped into a crack in the rocks. My leg twisted around, making me fall to the ground. As the canteen flew from my hands and spilled, I heard something snap in the prosthetic.

"Great," I groaned. I pulled my leg toward me and inspected it. The bottom had broken, so I could barely walk and certainly couldn't fly on Toothless.

Toothless came over to me, making sure I wasn't hurt.

"I'm fine, Bud," I said. I rifled through his saddlebags, but I didn't have any spare prosthetics with me. Apparently, that was my spare. In resignation, I pushed the empty canteen back into the bag.

"Here, help me up," I said. Toothless used his head to push me up. I limped over to the nearest wall, the wall by the tunnel, using it to lean against.

Pulling out my notebook, I tore out a page. I wrote a quick note explaining my circumstances.

I let out a Terror call. A moment later, several Terrible Terrors flew toward me. I recognized one; it lived outside my house. It would fly back there and my dad would see the message.

My eyes blurred. That made it hard to fasten the knot holding the note to the Terror's leg. Frustrated, I leaned forward to see it closer.

My head started to spin even more. As I leaned forward, I lost my balance. I stepped forward frantically, trying to keep my balance. My metal leg hit the ground, but didn't balance me at all because it was broken. Still clutching the Terrible Terror, I fell to the side and tumbled down… down to the Door to the Past.


	2. Chapter 2

_Astrid_

I waited late into the night. My parents were asleep; the house was quiet. The fire burned low in the hearth as I sharpened my ax.

Hiccup hadn't come back yet. I should know – I could see his house from my own. Through the open door, I could see Stoick pacing back and forth, the way he only does when he's worried about Hiccup.

I shook my head in frustration. I never should have left him! Of course he would do something stupid. There was something different about him, the way he was acting, and the way he looked at everything. His deep brown eyes, normally sharp and clear, seemed so… lost. Unfocused. He looked sick.

Standing up, I realized I couldn't take this anymore. I had to do something. I ran outside and woke up Stormfly. "C'mon, girl, let's go," I coaxed, climbing onto her back.

I flew to wake the other riders up. I swooped past Fishleg's house, using Stormfly's spines to knock on the wall outside his room. He pushed open his shutters, looking out.

"Astrid?" he asked sleepily.

"Hiccup's not back yet," I called over to him.

He ran outside and jumped onto Meatlug, the Gronkle buzzing along to keep up.

We landed outside Snotlout's house. We pounded on his door and explained what was happening. Snotlout pretended not to be concerned, but we could tell in his eyes that he cared for his cousin.

Then, we all went to the twin's house, landing outside their door. I hurled my ax at their door. The door flew open with a bang when the ax bounced off.

"Stupid door!" Tuffnut shouted.

"It's us, Muttonhead!" I yelled.

"I knew that," Tuffnut said, emerging from the door. "Didn't I, Sis?" In response, Ruffnut slammed him on the head.

"Guys, Hiccup isn't back yet," Snotlout said. "Let's go get him out of trouble, yet again."

The twins got onto Barf and Belch and took off, flying with us to Hiccup's house by the great hall.

We jumped off our dragons right outside. "Sir?" Fishlegs asked as we stepped inside. "Hiccup's not back yet, is he?"

Stoick stopped pacing, his back toward us. "No, he's not." He turned around and walked out the door. He stopped a few steps outside and looked over his shoulder. "Well, aren't you coming?"

"Right behind you!" I said, running out and jumping onto Stormfly. Stoick climbed up behind me. He gave up his dragon, Thornado, to take care of some baby Thunderdrums awhile back, and he needed someone to ride with.

"Don't you even think about going without me, Chief," came a voice from around the corner. Gobber stepped out.

"Climb on!" Snotlout said. Gobber jumped onto Hookfang behind Snotlout.

"Stormfly, up!" She stretched out her wings and shot up into the air, the other dragons close behind.

"I never should have let Hiccup go out. I knew he was sick! His eyes didn't focus, he was confused, he always seemed to have a headache; why did I let him out of bed?" Stoick said from behind me. If I didn't know better, I'd say he was fretting.

"We never should have left him," I responded. We scanned the forest below us as we circled the steep hills on our way to the cave. Now, it was my turn to have trouble seeing. Tears filled my eyes, but I couldn't let them fall. I didn't want the others to know how scared I was for Hiccup. I wiped my eyes and tried to keep my chin from quivering.

I felt Stoick put his hand on my shoulder. I turned and saw a worried, yet reassuring look on his face. "Don't worry, Astrid. We'll find him."

I turned forward again and nodded.

"I don't see the cave around here anywhere!" Snotlout called. "It's too dark."

"It should be here somewhere!" Fishlegs responded.

"Look down there!" Ruffnut called. A bright blue flash came up into the sky. Plasma blast.

"Toothless!" Fishlegs called. We angled our dragons down to meet Toothless.

Landing on the ledge near him, Fishlegs had Meatlug blast some lava on the ground so we could see. We looked at Toothless, his prosthetic tail fin being the most visible in the darkness. He was carrying something round and shiny in his mouth. I gasped. "Is that –"

"Hiccup's shield!" exclaimed Stoick.

Gobber jumped off Hookfang and grabbed the shield. "He never goes anywhere without this shield."

Snotlout and the twins began searching through Toothless's saddlebags for some kind of clue. "His canteen is dry as a bone," Snotlout said.

"So Hiccup is somewhere, probably sick, without water, a shield, or weapons," I said.

Toothless wanted us to follow him. He turned to the cave.

"Toothless has been trying to get help," Fishlegs realized. "But he couldn't get down from here without Hiccup."

"Let's go!" I shouted. Toothless led the way into the cave, around the twisting tunnel.

Using our dragons, we lit some torches. We ran to where we had found the carvings.

"Guys… look there!" I said, pointing. Hiccup's metal leg, now broken, was laying on a sharp ledge, caught on a small projection right at the edge of the tunnel, where it dipped down and got completely vertical.

"Hiccup!" Stoick cried, shouting down the tunnel.

The color drained from my face as I realized aloud, "He's down there!"


	3. Chapter 3

_Hiccup_

A falling sensation… down, down, down. My leg felt weird for a second, like it was caught on something. I felt myself flipping upside down, and then the pressure was gone. I fell faster again, before feeling a… weird sensation. Like I was covered by a blanket.

I was warm and comfortable. My leg felt funny. The prosthetic must have fallen off. I felt it with my other foot and froze. Something didn't feel right.

I opened my eyes. I was in my room.

Well, of course I was. It was the day I had been dreading. I'd have to kill a dragon.

No, no it wasn't. I had just been falling.

I pulled back the covers and gasped at what I saw. My feet… both of them!

Well, of course. Why not?

A Terrible Terror with something strapped to its leg slipped out from under the covers and scrambled down the stairs. I hoped my dad wouldn't see it; he would kill it for being in the house.

I recognized that Terror… why?

My head didn't hurt, but I felt a little foggy. My memory was all messed up.

Something about falling… and feet. And Toothless.

Toothless. Yes. Dragons.

I had to kill a dragon. But I couldn't.

I felt funny. Like I was smaller. I felt my hair. Weird, I thought I had cut it.

No, I didn't. What was wrong with me?

I had to get ready, and I had to think. How could I solve this problem?

I had told Astrid last night that I needed until today to think of something.

Memories of last night's flight on Toothless, with Astrid behind me, flooded my mind. She seemed so happy after Toothless evened out his flight and flew peacefully.

Now – now we knew why the dragons stole from us. That monster, that… that Red Death, as I thought of it, forced them to.

I smiled a little as I thought of after we came back to Berk and landed. Astrid had agreed to keep the nest a secret for now. She had punched me… then, as I was getting over my confusion, pulled me forward and kissed me on the cheek. I couldn't believe it, but I wouldn't have changed it for the world.

Changed it… wasn't there something important I had to remember?

No, no, that was just my mind playing tricks on me again.

I heard my dad's voice, echoing. "Hiccup!" It sounded distant, like he was in a tunnel.

His voice came again as he walked up the stairs.

"Hiccup, get ready! I know you're going to do me proud today." He came across the room and put his hand on my shoulder. "Finally, you're going to fully realize who you are."

I faked a weak smile. "Yep, I sure will." Now if only I could know what to do!

No, wait, I knew. I knew what I had to do.


	4. Chapter 4

The citizens of Berk were all gathered around the ring later that day, with bright banners depicting dragon fighting hanging all around.

Coming up to the front of the crowd, Stoick laughed, "Well, I can show my face in public again!" The crowd cheered.

Holding up a hand to silence the crowd, he continued. "If somebody told me that in a few short weeks, Hiccup would go from… well, being, uh… Hiccup, to placing first in dragon training? Well, I would have tied him to a mast, and shipped him off, for he'd have gone mad!" The crowd laughed and cheered again. "And you know it! But, here we are. No one's more surprised, or more proud, than I am."

I could hear his words as I stood in the entrance to the ring. "Today," he said, "my boy becomes a viking! Today, he becomes _one of us_!" The crowd cheered louder than ever.

"Be careful with that dragon," Astrid said, coming up behind me.

Watching my dad come to the edge of the ring, I responded, "It's not the dragon I'm worried about."

"What're you going to do?"

"Put an end to this. I have to try. Astrid, if something… goes wrong, just make sure they don't find Toothless."

"I will," she promised. "Just, promise me it won't go wrong."

Just then, Gobber rounded the corner. "It's time, Hiccup," he said. "Knock 'im dead."

To the crowd's chants of "Hiccup, Hiccup!" I entered the ring. Slowly, I placed my helmet on my head as the portcullis swung shut behind me. I made my way to the weapons rack in the middle. I grabbed a shield and a small knife.

Taking a deep breath, I said, "I'm ready."

The huge bolt slowly rose from the last cage, the one that hadn't been opened yet. As soon as the pulleys fully removed the bolt, a Monstrous Nightmare sprang out, angry. It was covered in fire; fire so hot, it set the heavy wooden doors aflame just by being near them.

It climbed all around the chains that formed the top of the arena, breathing fire out at the townspeople. Its fire died away, revealing a pattern of red, orange and black; a terrifying sight.

It snarled as it climbed down, trying to corner me. The crowd was quiet except for a few people yelling encouragements to me. The excitement was intense.

As I backed away from the dragon, I held my knife and the shield off to the sides. I dropped them – first the knife, then the shield. I heard some people saying that it was madness.

The Monstrous Nightmare continued to snarl at me. "Hey, it's okay. It's okay," I reassured it.

Removing my helmet, kept eye contact with the dragon as I said, "I'm not one of them." I tossed the helmet to the side. The crowd gasped.

Stoick rose. "Stop the fight," he ordered.

"No!" I said. "I need you all to see this." Raising my hand to make contact with the dragon, I went on, "They're not what we think they are. We don't have to kill them."

"I said _stop the fight_ ," Stoick boomed, using his hammer to smash the side of the arena's cover.

The dragon, terrified by the noise, roared and began to breathe fire again.

Yelling in terror, I dashed away. "Hiccup!" Astrid called from the other side of the portcullis.

"Out of my way!" Stoick yelled, making his way down. Astrid used a huge battle ax to pry open the portcullis just enough to squeeze under.

I had no chance at defending myself against a panicked dragon. Astrid took a hammer and threw it at the dragon, knocking its head to the side for a second. As the dragon chased after her, my dad showed up and ripped open the portcullis all the way. Astrid dashed toward him, and he pulled her to safety. But as I dashed forward, the Monstrous Nightmare shot fire at the wooden frame, blocking my exit. I ran the other way, and was overtaken by the dragon. It used a single, huge claw to hold me down. It was certainly going to be my last moment.

Without warning, there was a Night Fury call. Toothless came bounding through the crowd. How he got out of the cove, I will never know. He shot a plasma blast and instantly melted a large part of the cage around the arena. He jumped through and engaged the Monstrous Nightmare.

"Night Fury!" Gobber marveled from outside the ring.

Toothless pushed the Monstrous Nightmare away, staying between me and it. The Nightmare sunk into the corner in defeat.

Just then, the other vikings started to jump into the ring, ready to fight Toothless. They didn't know him. All they knew was that he was a Night Fury, the most feared and destructive of all dragons. The unholy offspring of lightning and death itself. And he was at a disadvantage.

"Go, go!" I yelled, trying to push Toothless away. He had to run, or he'd be captured, or worse, killed.

Stoick grabbed a battle ax and joined the charge. "No, Dad. Dad, he won't hurt you!" I shouted.

"Don't. No, no, don't, you're only making it worse," I cried as Toothless knocked vikings aside.

He sprang onto Stoick. "Toothless, stop," I yelled as he get ready to fire a deadly plasma blast at my dad. "No. _No_!" I yelled. Toothless stopped and looked at me obediently.

"Get him!" a man yelled.

At that exact second, a Terrible Terror flew through the crowd toward me. It was the same one that was in my room that morning. It startled a little girl somewhere in the crowd. A high-pitched scream sounded, drawing everyone's attention away from me and Toothless.

Using that split-second distraction, I jumped onto Toothless's back. Safely seated in the saddle, I moved my foot in the stirrup, opening his tail fin. We flew up to the top of the cage over the arena, hovering over it.

"Hiccup! What are you doing?" Stoick demanded in shock. I watched the other teens' faces as they gaped and gawked. Astrid stood, staring in worry.

"I'm putting an end to this!" I declared. "No more of this fighting, dragons against man. We cam all live together. Please. Listen to me!" I pleaded. The crowd hushed.

Looking down, I saw my dad's face harden. "Your mother was _killed_ by a dragon, and you want to _live_ with them?" he bellowed. "Are you out of your mind, boy?"

"They aren't the monsters you know them as. Why won't you listen? Can you not hear me?!"

"All I hear," Stoick said, "is someone who was nearly killed by a dragon just a minute ago, trying to keep one as a _pet_!" His voice shook with anger. "It's your choice: stay with your tribe, or stay with the fiends you call your friends."

"I can't abandon the dragons, Dad, please!"

He set his jaw firmly. "No son of mine befriends the beasts which killed his mother. You are not my son." He walked away through the crowd, not looking back.

Those words bounced around in my head as I saw the villagers scowling at me. They were too afraid of Toothless to attack me, but their cold, angry expressions showed that they would if they had the chance. They would stand by their chief.

All except for two people looked that way. Astrid looked terrified, and Gobber… Gobber looked sad. Disappointed.

"You are not my son… you are not my son..." Those words ate at me. I wasn't welcome here. It was a choice between my people… or the dragons.

But, as I had told the Monstrous Nightmare, I wasn't one of them. I wasn't a dragon killer.

"Toothless, plasma blasts! Take out those doors!" I told him. Toothless blasted the locks on all the cages. The dragons held prisoner in the arena flew to freedom.

With tears threatening to roll down my cheeks, I took one last look at Berk.

"Goodbye… Dad," I whispered softly.

With that, I leaned forward. "Let's go, Bud." We shot forward, leaving vapor behind, whistling from due to sheer speed. I couldn't return.

Ever.


	5. Chapter 5

Toothless and I flew on for hours, far away from Berk. We flew to a small island, one I had only visited once: Crescent Island. I had to make sure no one would ever suspect that I was there.

It was almost night by the time we landed. I stayed slumped on Toothless for a minute before I got off. Then, I slowly crawled off his back. I walked over to a tree and leaned against it.

Survival. I needed water. Shelter. Fire. Food. I should find them before the sun set the rest of the way. I had to start looking immediately, because the night was sure to be dark and cold.

But I didn't. After years trying to prove how tough and viking-like I could be, I finally gave up. I sank down to the ground and cried.

I must have drifted off to sleep eventually. I woke up in the pale, misty morning with Toothless using his wing to keep me warm. Feeling me move, Toothless awoke, stretching out his wings.

"Morning," I said. Toothless purred in response. "I guess it's just you and me from now on, Bud. What say we go get ourselves some breakfast?"

Toothless bounded up. I slowly stood up and stretched, making my way through the forest. I had to find fresh water first of all. I went down to the beach and followed it along the shoreline. Eventually, I found a stream that flowed from a spring only a few hundred feet beforehand.

After taking a long drink, Toothless and I went back down to the beach. Using some vines I found at the edge of the forest, I made a simple fishing net, just large enough to catch a single fish. Using the net, I caught several small fish. After Toothless had eaten his fill, he lit a small fire for me so I could roast a fish for myself.

When I was finished eating, I asked Toothless, "Wanna check things out?" He eagerly crouched down so I could climb on top of him. We took off, shooting for the highest point on the island.

Looking down, I could see evidence of many, many dragons living here. I could even hear their calls. Glancing up at the horizon, I saw some specks flying toward me.

They were the dragons from the ring.

The Monstrous Nightmare, the Deadly Nadder, the Gronkle, and the Hideous Zippleback came flying up to Toothless. I heard them make grunts, roars, and other dragon noises to each other. "What is it, Toothless?" I asked. "Why are they here?"

In response, Toothless cooed. "It's because dragons are loyal, isn't it?" I realized. "You freed them; now they'll stay with you."

Toothless looked back at me and caught my eye. In the look that passed between us, I could tell that Toothless was agreeing with me.

The next several days passed fairly uneventfully. Because Toothless was accepting me, the other dragons slowly started to as well.

On the fifth morning after I arrived, Toothless and I were flying close to the cliffs by the ocean. We were swooping low over the water, when a Scauldron came up out of the sea without any warning.

A Scauldron is a dragon that lives its life underwater. I read about it in the dragon manual; it was the one that shoots boiling water at its victims.

The Scauldron was ready to shoot at us. Yelling in terror, I directed Toothless up. We cleared the area faster by flying up along the cliffs. But when we reached the top, Toothless's tail fin scraped the rough edge of the cliff. I urged Toothless to the ground once we were far away from the Scauldron.

I jumped off and examined the cloth. It had a small rip in it, about the size of my little finger. It would slowly get worse; I had to fix it before it got too bad. I had no materials.

They were back on Berk.

"What do we do?" I pondered aloud, pacing back and forth on the grass. "We can't go back. They'll drive us away, or lock us up, or…" I stopped short, an idea hitting me. "… Or they'll never even know we're there."

It was a simple plan. It was five days; they would have figured out that I was no longer on the island. They would have stopped looking, if they ever looked for me in the first place. No one would suspect us swooping in at the dead of night, taking a few things, and leaving.

That night, Toothless and I flew back to Berk, with the other dragons following us. We stayed high above the clouds so the watchman wouldn't see us. Thankfully, there was no dragon attack going on that night as we came upon the village.

Diving down, I landed in the woods near the edge of town. "Stay here," I told Toothless. I wanted him holding the other dragons back in the woods, ready to strike in case of an emergency. With that taken care of, I sneaked toward the forge.

As I entered the forge, I listened closely. I couldn't hear Gobber anywhere. Swiftly, I took my leather black smithing apron off its hook and filled it with extra metal rods I had made while designing Toothless's saddle. I grabbed the pile of leather I hadn't used yet, and I bundled it all up, tying my leather-and-tools bundle with a little bit of rope. Thinking a little more, I grabbed a small knife and tucked in in my belt, hidden by my vest.

Part one was complete. Now, just to grab a few necessities...

I slipped through the village, avoiding any bright spots. I opened the door to my house – well, Stoick's house. Not mine anymore.

I opened the door just a crack. Inside, I could see Stoick and Gobber, sitting before the fire, talking in low tones. Holding my breath, I sneaked through the house and up the stairs. In my room – my old room – I found my things. I grabbed everything I could think of… fishing line, fishing hooks, spare boots, clothes, a blanket, pens, ink…. Pushing them into a bag, I slipped back down the stairs. Pausing halfway down, I listened to what Stoick and Gobber were saying.

"I just don't know where I taught him wrong," Stoick said. "I lived and breathed dragon killing. My whole life was built around it."

"Ah, you can't win 'em all," said Gobber. "We both knew he was something different."

"Why would he prefer to be with those beasts than with his own tribe? His own family?"

"If I recall, he wasn't the only one in the family to take to the beasties."

Stoick's shoulders sank. "No. Valka always urged me to stop the fighting." Valka was my mother. "Every time I think of Hiccup on that dragon, I think of Valka being carried off as she tried to protect him in his cradle. She succeeded in protecting him that day. I failed every day since."

"Don't be too hard on yourself," Gobber said. "The lad's fifteen years old, even if he doesn't look a day over twelve. He made his own choice."

"Yes," Stoick said. "But I can't let his choice affect the whole tribe. I need to find the dragon's nest. We've only got a few months before the hard freeze of winter sets in."

I slipped out of the house. Running back to where I left the dragons, I didn't notice the slim figure following me.

Just as I got to the edge of the woods, I heard a voice behind me. "Hiccup."

I froze, then relaxed when I realized that who it was.

"Astrid. Look. I'm- I'm- I'm so sorry. None of this is as it should be."

"Hiccup, don't worry about that. Just tell me what you're going to do now."

"I don't know. Go back to the island where I was hiding before, I guess."

"I've got a better idea. I don't know where you were before, but now, go to the island where the dragon nest is."

"What? Why?"

"Just do it, and stay there. Or near there. I'll get permission to hunt on nearby islands. I'll meet you somewhere over there soon, and we'll figure out what to do from there." She turned around to go back to the village. "Don't forget."

"I won't." As she took a few more steps forward, I said, "Hey, Astrid?"

She turned around, with a question in her expression. "Thanks," I said, hoping my eyes would tell her more than my words did. She smiled, and I smiled back. Then she turned and went away into the village.

I went back to the dragons. I climbed onto Toothless, and instead of flying back to Crescent Island, I flew to the island with the volcano. In my mind, I was starting to think of it as "Dragon Island."


	6. Chapter 6

My entourage of dragons and I landed in the dead of night, far away from the nest. We camped in the forest, surrounded by thick bushes. As we had become used to, Toothless wrapped one of his wings around me to keep me warm.

In the cool, clear morning, I had another breakfast of fish. That was really starting to get old. Then, I decided to explore the island.

With Toothless by my side and the other dragons trailing somewhere behind, I walked along, whacking the underbrush out of my way. I found myself standing on a rocky shelf which meets the ocean. There was something on the horizon… Something I couldn't quite make out…

Gasping in horror, I ducked behind some rocks.

Outcast ship.

The Outcasts were a band of the most crude, vile men known to vikings. They had been cast out from Berk and other tribes because of their treachery. In fact, that's what their leader was called: Alvin the Treacherous.

To my dismay, the Outcast ship was heading straight toward the island. I scrambled to a better hiding spot, and Toothless hid with me.

As I spied on the oncoming ship, I contemplated my situation. I couldn't go home, and I didn't know anyone away from Berk, other than passing welcomes during diplomatic events between tribes. I had no friends other than Astrid and the dragons, and my dad was still hunting down the dragons' nest. I still had to save the dragons.

Even with the help of dragons, there was no way I could do it alone. I needed help. And why not from the Outcasts?

After all, I realized, I was one myself.

As the Outcast ship made anchor and Alvin the Treacherous himself came on shore, I stepped out in front of him.

"What's this?" the huge man with a wild beard asked as the men behind him drew their crossbows. "Is this Stoick's little embarrassment?"

Ah, yes, one of my favorite people. I had seen him before, when Stoick was trying to negotiate a peace treaty. The treaty failed, and the two tribes have been at war for many years.

"I- I-I want to join the Outcasts," I said, my heart racing.

"You?" scoffed Alvin. "You're a mere child! What kind of trick is this?

"Not a trick," I said. "Look, look, I've been kicked out, okay? I can't go back, so I may as well go forward."

Alvin's eyes narrowed. "Even if this wasn't a trick, what would make me take you into the greatest fighting force in the archipelago?" He gestured back to his dirty, rag-tag crew.

"Oh, I don't know," I said. "Maybe my inner knowledge of Berk, maybe my, my inside connections, maybe my… Night Fury." I watched as Alvin's eyes widened in fear.

"Toothless, now!" I called. Toothless sprang from the rocks, growling and snarling at Alvin. I climbed on Toothless's back and he reared up, ready to strike, as the other dragons backed him up.

I could see Alvin struggle to remain calm. "The boy has a point," he called to his men. "What say you we let our dragon-riding friend join us?"

None of the men dared argue as they lowered their crossbows. Toothless relaxed a little.

"What exactly do you want, boy?"

"I want to defend the dragons. They aren't the monsters everyone thinks they are."

"Well, I'm not really in a position to argue, am I? I say you're in." I tried not to shudder as Alvin placed his huge hand on my shoulder. "Now, let's talk this out. What do you want us to do?"

"The- the dragons have a nest, somewhere," I said. "I know where it is, but I don't want the people of Berk to know. We need to stop them from finding it, or they'll end up hurt. Or worse."

"And what's in it for us?" Alvin demanded.

"A chance to save dragons, and a chance to hold Berk back," I told him. "I need your tools, your ships, your plans… you need my knowledge, my experience. Do we have a deal?"

Alvin thought about it. "On me word, son!" I cringed at the word _son_. "Come over to Outcast Island tomorrow night. That will be our first strike to hold Berk away from the dragons." He got back into his ship and pushed off, heading away.


	7. Chapter 7

All that day and then the next, I felt torn. I was going to be acting against my own tribe. That was high treason.

But then, every time I looked Toothless in the eyes, I knew that I had to do something to save the dragons.

Besides, that huge monster lived in the dragons' nest. It would kill any people who tried to fight it.

So I was doing the right thing. Beyond any shadow of a doubt, undeniably, irrevocably, I was doing the right thing.

I hoped.

After catching a couple hours of sleep in the afternoon, I started off toward Outcast Island. It was a dark, dismal place, which was more a fort than a town.

Swooping low on Toothless, I landed right in front of Alvin. "What's the plan?" I asked.

"Attack their war ships in the harbor," he said. "If they can't sail, they can't find the nest, now can they?" His eyes glinted as he spoke. "I need you to provide a… distraction, see? You've got yer dragons."

"Just promise me that you won't hurt anyone," I said, staring him in the eyes.

"Me? Now what kind of monster do you think I am?" Alvin asked a little too innocently.

"My goal is to save the dragons. Your goal is to cripple Berk's warships, so you can defeat them in a fair battle," I told him. "A _fair_ battle, not a low-handed attack."

"Do you not trust me, boy?"

I looked at him in exasperation.

"Fair enough. But remember, you've got the Night Fury. I'll work with the lad with the Night Fury."

We boarded several ships, headed toward Berk. I stayed on Toothless the whole time. Alvin wasn't known as "the Treacherous" for no reason. The other dragons formed a defensive circle around us.

In a few hours, we arrived at the harbor. It was raining in a light drizzle. We dropped anchor while we were hidden behind some sea stacks. In the torchlight on shore, I could see the night watchman patrolling the mostly sleeping town. Down at the docks, however, some fishermen were preparing their boats for the early morning's trip. I had to divert their attention.

I leaned forward. "Come on, Bud," I whispered into Toothless's ear. He slowly spread his wings wide, then shot out of the boat. Staying low to the water, we rapidly approached the docks. We stayed level; the docks now almost upon us…

I shifted the stirrup back. We rocketed up into the air, flying straight up, silently. Because Toothless was the stealthiest of all dragons, they would never see us unless we wanted them to.

The other dragons, however, were not so stealthy. That was what I had been counting on.

They roared as they swept upward, breathing flames as they rose. The Monstrous Nightmare set itself on fire.

Looking down, I saw the fishermen scramble back off their boat. They shouted as they ran up the zig-zagging boardwalks leading up to the village. Within a minute, vikings ran out of their houses, weapons in hand.

I dove lower, toward the ground. Nearly invisible against the dark, rainy night, Toothless and I circled the village, sliding between the trees at the edge of the forest.

The other dragons continued to follow. Behind us, I could hear the vikings of Berk pursuing. I led them around in a wild chase for several minutes. Then, we rose high into the air, hovering about fifty feet above the ground over the center of the village.

"What are they doing?" I heard Stoick shouting from the ground below. "Why are they gathered up there like that?"

"I've never seen anything like it," Gobber replied.

I viewed the scene below. The villagers were gathered, looking up in confusion. Snotlout ran from the direction of the docks.

"Outcast ship!" he shouted.

"It was a diversion!" cried Stoick. "The dragons must have been trained…" His voice faltered for a second. "To the harbor!"

Flying higher, we went above the clouds. We flew in the safety of the cover they provided. Only once I was sure we were beyond the range of the catapults did I dare set down on a sea stack. I watched as the Outcasts fled, their work done. Many of the battleships were set aflame. The villagers gave up on the Outcasts, turning their efforts on putting out the fires. Many of the ships were damaged badly. It would take weeks to repair the damage.

Satisfied, but uneasy, I flew down to the retreating Outcast ship.

"You did good, boy," Alvin said as I landed. "Look at them!"

"When's our next strike?" I asked.

"Be back on Outcast Island in two days. We'll attack then."


	8. Chapter 8

Those next two days, I did a lot of thinking. After several hours of fishing the one day, I brought the pile of fish back to the dragons.

The Hideous Zippleback grabbed a large salmon, pulling it back toward it. The two heads both tried to eat the fish at the same time. As the Zippleback was confusing itself, the Deadly Nadder tried to sneak a bite out of it. A small squabble broke out.

Toothless sent a small plasma blast into the air, breaking up the fight. I was amazed as the Nadder backed away and grabbed another fish for itself. It obeyed Toothless because it was loyal.

Loyal… unlike me.

No. No, I couldn't think that way. Berk didn't want me. Stoick had disowned me. I wasn't one of them. I wasn't a dragon killer. I wasn't a hater. I wasn't someone who fought everything he was afraid of. No!

My mind was still heavy as I went to the Outcasts again. We executed the next attack flawlessly, leaving the boardwalks leading down to the docks aflame.

The next three weeks passed by like that. Every few nights, we'd strike. I don't remember too much those weeks. The days slipped into a pattern. They never used to do that for me. Everything always used to be constant discovery, constant new ideas, constant struggling to accomplish things.

Now, I just lived. No goals, no plans. Only the vague idea of working with the Outcasts to save the dragons. I felt very little happiness, very little ambition, very little accomplishment, just… very little. I occasionally felt uneasy, but I forced myself to brush it off. The only thing I looked forward to was when Astrid would come. Maybe that would make things better.

Each attack was a little bit different. Sometimes I'd act as the diversion. Sometimes I'd set the fires myself, using perfectly aimed plasma blasts to burn or explode catapults, storage sheds, and empty watchtowers. By the time the villagers realized that there was a Night Fury around, we'd be gone.


	9. Chapter 9

One morning, I knelt in the woods, digging up earthworms to use for bait, as the dragons played elsewhere on the island. I reached under a bush, pushing the damp leaves on the ground over.

"You've got quite a reputation back on Berk," a voice behind me said.

I jumped up, whirling around. I clutched my hands to my heart, trying to calm myself.

"Astrid. Don't scare me like that!"

"Sorry." She didn't seem it. "It took me forever to get permission to come here. Especially since I couldn't tell them where 'here' is."

"How long can you stay?" I asked.

"My 'hunting trip' will last about two weeks," she answered. "Look, there's something you should know..."

"I'm so glad you're here," I said. "What did you mean by a 'reputation'?"

"We all know you're behind the strange dragon attacks," she replied. "They aren't like the normal ones. Something's obviously leading them, something like… the Night Fury that's been striking different places in the village."

"Look. It- it wasn't an easy decision to join the Outcasts. But what else could I do? That's what I am; an outcast. I wish there were another way–"

"Astrid! Where'd you go?" a voice called from down near the shore. I looked at Astrid in confusion.

"That's what I was going to tell you," she said. "The condition my parents and the chief set for me coming here was that the others came with me."

"The others?"

"Fishlegs, Snotlout, Ruffnut, and Tuffnut," she explained. "I've gotta go now so they don't find you. I'll make sure we set up camp a long way off. I'll find you again once I can." She started to go down toward the hill. Then she paused and turned around. "Just, Hiccup," she began, "I… I don't think you're an outcast." She turned again and ran down the hill to the others.

I stood there, staring after her. "Thanks," I whispered, feeling a hint of hope for the first time in weeks.


	10. Chapter 10

That night, I took the dragons to the caves by the rock shelf where I first met up with the Outcasts. We stayed there for the night, so the others wouldn't find us. In the morning, I had Toothless stay with the other dragons, keeping them inside the cave.

I went for a walk around the island's shoreline. I climbed up a cliff using a steep, rocky trail along its front. When I reached the top of the trail, I still had about six feet of sheer cliff to climb. I jumped up so my hands grabbed the top of the cliff firmly, closing my fingers around some tree roots.

I struggled to pull myself up. Eventually, I twisted so my right foot caught the top edge of the cliff. Holding my breath in fear, I heaved myself to the top.

I rolled over several times in the grass. Then, I sat up, trying to regain my bearings. I turned away from the cliff. What I saw made me freeze, my heart sinking.

Ruffnut and Tuffnut sat there, staring at the volcano in the distance. As they saw smoke rising from the top, Ruffnut sighed.

"Isn't it beautiful?" she said. "So much potential..."

"For destruction!" her brother continued.

"Yeah!" they cheered, banging their heads together in celebration.

I had to get out of there without letting them see me. I glanced back at the way I came. Going that way would require a six-foot drop onto a twelve-inch ledge. There was no way I could do that. I would almost certainly slip and fall down onto the jagged rocks along the shore. If the rocks didn't kill me, the churning surf would.

I tried to sneak away from them by going off to the side. But before I had taken more than a few steps, my foot landed on a twig. It snapped, sending the twins twirling in my direction.

"Well, if it isn't Mr. Hiccup Haddock, the Third," Tuffnut said.

"It seems to me that you are no longer the most… exemplary viking, my good Mr. Haddock," Ruffnut said.

"Umm… I'm pretty sure that's not a word," Tuffnut whispered to her. The two of them have similar arguments about words a lot. I tried to slowly slip off to the side as they continued to argue.

"It is indeed a word," Ruffnut said.

"Then I challenge you to define it!"

"Exemplary," Ruffnut explained as I was almost in the clear, "is an adjective, describing a thing which serves as a desirable model and represents the best of its kind." She smiled in triumph.

"Ahh, so it is a word. Then, dear sister, we must conclude that our friend Hiccup here is not an… um… ex-em-pry… model of escape," Tuffnut said, pointing at me as he struggled to pronounce the word.

"Look, look, um, I'll- I'll just be going now…" I faltered, about to take off running. I saw the twins grinning and nodding to each other. A second later, they pounced, tackling me.

"Guys– Ow! Ow!" I shouted as they pounded my ribs. "Would you stop that?!"

Holding my pinned to the ground, the twins stopped hitting me. Tuffnut leaned over me, his long, loose blond hair brushing against my face.

"You, sir, are a disgrace to our tribe!" he stated.

"I told you, I told everyone… I'm not one of you."

"Well, not anymore," said Ruffnut. "You call yourself an Outcast now."

"That's what I am," I said, laboring to breathe with them on top of me. "You- you heard Stoick say that I'm not welcome… that I'm not his son. All the tribe shunned me; all the family I have left hates me. What else am I?" I demanded.

I saw Ruffnut's jaw drop as she looked, wide eyed, at Tuffnut. His expression mirrored hers as they stared at each other, then at me.

They climbed off of me and stood over me. "Today is your lucky day," Tuffnut said, his voice thick. "My sister and I must confer about this matter."

"Just, just please don't let the others know I'm here. Please," I pleaded, looking them in the eyes.

"Your secret is safe with us," said Tuffnut, "until we figure something out between ourselves."

"Thank you," I breathed, scrambling to my feet and running away.


	11. Chapter 11

I laid low for a couple of days, coming out of the cave only just long enough to catch food for the dragons, or gather firewood. I also found some berry bushes with fruit. Oh, it tasted so good after a steady diet of fish and dandelion greens!

As I was busy gathering firewood, three days after talking to the twins, I was startled by a footstep behind me. I whirled around, ready to use a branch I was holding as a club.

"Astrid! You've got to stop doing that," I exclaimed. "I could've hurt you."

Astrid smirked. "I'm not too worried," she said. "You may be powerful on a dragon, but on the ground, I've still got you beat." She grabbed my arm and twisted it behind my back, pinning me to a tree.

"Ow, ow, okay, okay, I get the point," I said, wincing. If only my growth spurt would come along someday. Maybe then I'd have muscle.

Astrid released me. "Where have you been?" she asked. "I've been looking all over for you."

"I've been hiding out in the caves," I said. "I had a little run-in with the twins a few days back."

She nodded. "Well, that explains it. The two of them have been whispering to each other all the time these past couple days. They're driving the rest of us insane!" She thought about her words. "Well, more than they usually do."

I chuckled softly. My eyes opened wide in wonder.

"What is it?" Astrid asked.

"It's… it's just that I haven't laughed in a long time now. It feels… really nice."

Her eyes clouded in concern. "Hiccup… I'm worried about you. This isn't you. You always were ready to smile, to laugh, even when the rest of us were being jerks to you. But now, you're different. You seem dispirited. It shows in your eyes. You can't keep fighting with the Outcasts forever."

"No… no I can't. But for now, what else can I do? The dragons mean no harm, and I can't let the Red Death hurt the people of Berk. I'm doing this for everyone."

I looked up. Astrid had tears forming in her eyes. She was always the brave one, the tough one. Nothing ever cracked her. Now, she just looked sad. My heart ached to make her feel better.

"I… I have to do this. For now," I said, swallowing hard. "But not forever." I noticed that the sun was beginning to sink lower in the sky. The Outcasts were planning another attack tonight; I had to meet them soon.

"I have to go and… and take care of business." I started toward the caves.

"Hiccup…" Astrid began. I turned toward her. "Be careful," she whispered. I nodded gravely, then turned and went on my way.

–

The dragons and I slipped off and flew to Outcast Island. Toothless held himself back; if he went his full speed, he would leave the others far behind.

We landed on the Outcast ship just as it left port.

"Ah, you decided to join us," Alvin said. "I was starting to wonder if you'd abandoned us."

"I'm here," I stated. "What's our target?"

"Our target," said Alvin, "is nothing other than the Great Hall of Berk!"

I gasped. "You'll kill people!"

"Relax, boy! No one will be inside. And we won't bring the place down, just a little bit of fire on the outside, no harm done."

"Then what's the point? What's your real plan?"

"We'll hit Stoick where it hurts. He'll be so angry at us, well… he might just focus on the Outcasts instead of the dragons."

"Why would you want him to do that? That doesn't make sense."  
"Sure it does. When the boy on the Night Fury won't let me strike on my terms, we'll draw them into battle one of these days. Fair and square, eh?"

I sat there, thinking about it.

"Come on; they turned you away. There's nothing you can do now. Yer one of us now."

I squared my shoulders. He was right. Of course he was. I was cast out… an Outcast.


	12. Chapter 12

We arrived at Berk and again stopped behind the sea stacks. "C'mon, Bud," I said softly into Toothless's ear. "We have to do this." We took off. The other dragons came also, ensuring that we were guarded from all sides. They stayed in the distance, several hundred yards away, almost blending in to the starry night.

I could hear shouts from the shore. The villagers had just driven away a small pack of dragons; I could see them flying off into the night in the other direction.

As we approached closer, I could see the vikings gathering in the village plaza, near the Great Hall. Stoick was talking to them, but I didn't listen. We stayed high over them, only diving down when we were past the Great Hall. Toothless's was angled with his belly facing the people so that anyone who looked in our direction would see only the faintest of shadows, if anything at all. We landed softly in the grass.

I could still hear Stoick talking as I climbed off Toothless and grabbed a large stick from the nearby bushes. "Here Toothless, light me up," I whispered into Toothless's ear, holding up the stick. Toothless gently breathed a tiny plasma blast onto the dry leaves on the end of the branch, which worked as a makeshift torch. Alvin had warned me to use a torch instead of having the dragons shoot at it, because the dragons' blasts would be heard. This would be a stealth operation.

I crept around the side of the Great Hall to where the decorative trim work was. I didn't want to burn the whole thing down, so I would just burn the places where it wouldn't matter. I was still blocked from the crowd's view. I listened closely now.

"Get some rest," Stoick told the people. "The dragons are gone. We'll take a look at the damage tomorrow."

I froze as I heard the vikings moving away toward their homes. Although they were moving to the other side of the Great Hall, I had good cause to worry. My house – no, Stoick's house – was on the same side of the Great Hall as I was. I could hear him talking softly to Gobber and a few others. I had to act fast.

Trembling, I moved the torch closer to the building. Closer, closer… contact! The trim work started to catch. I moved the torch up and down the wood, watching as small flames kindled on it. It would cause much damage before Stoick came along.

I heard him say goodnight to the others. His footsteps came, closer, closer…

He started turning the corner. I dropped the torch and scurried into the bushes just before he saw me, I hoped. He froze for only a split second before he sped down the hill a little, grabbing a water trough. Lifting the whole thing off the ground, he rushed back up, hurling all the water from it at the burning trim.

Stoick tossed the trough aside, the fire now out. Smoke rose from the wood where the fire had burned the hottest.

He fixed his gaze on the torch, still burning on the ground. I scooted backwards in the bushes, trying to escape undetected. But Stoick heard the sound of twigs snapping. He drew his sword. "Alright, you can come out of there now," he ordered, raising the sword in threat.

Slowly, I stood up and stepped out of the bush, unable to meet his eyes. I saw his tense expression soften. He lowed the sword to his side.

"Hiccup…" he said softly, the flickering torch casting deep shadows on his face.

"I… I'm sorry. I need to do this. I don't have a choice. It's who I am, Da–" I stopped myself short before calling him "Dad."

"It doesn't have to be this way."

"Yes, it does. I'm an Outcast now." I felt a tear rolling down my cheek. Frustrated with myself, I wiped the tear away. "I'm not one of you. I'll never be one of you."

"Come back to us."

"You're still fighting the dragons."

"I'm the chief. I have to protect the village."

"If you met my dragon, would you kill him, too?"

Stoick's eyes dropped. "I must do what's right for my people."

"And I must do what's right for mine." I started to back away. Stoick watched as I turned and ran around the side of the Great Hall. I climbed onto Toothless and we took off, shooting through the sky at breathtaking speed. Stoick would never forgive me now; I had refused him twice.

The other dragons again flew around us, providing cover. So dedicated. So… loyal. Unlike me.

I shook my head hard, trying to clear the thoughts away. Of course I was doing the right thing. People just couldn't see it yet.

We landed in the Outcast ship, facing toward the shore. "Well, how did your lit'le raid go?" Alvin asked.

Focused not on him, but the village behind him, I said, "I hit him where it hurt."

I barely heard Alvin's laugh as I gazed at my former home.


	13. Chapter 13

Arriving back at Dragon Island, we went back to the caves and slept. The Monstrous Nightmare lit a small fire for me to keep warm. Toothless slept hanging, bat-like, at the entrance of the cave. Protecting me.

I tried to keep myself from thinking. I would not think, I would not think, I would not…

Groaning in frustration, I wrapped myself tighter in my blanket. I just wanted to sleep.

I heard the Gronkle coming closer to me. It lay next to me. It felt really comforting. Dragons have a way of doing that. Dragons cared. Dragons….

I woke up, with the gleam of the late morning sun shining into the cave. So I had managed to sleep.

Sitting up, I saw Astrid sitting near the cave entrance, with the Deadly Nadder by her side.

"You're finally up," she said.

I yawned and stretched. "Yeah, a night full of… work… really tires a person out."

She dropped her eyes. We both know what I meant by "work."

"I told the others that I saw a herd of wild boars they can hunt on the other side of the island. They'll be gone for awhile. You can get out of this place for a few hours."

I threw the blanket off me and pulled on my boots. "Come on, Toothless," I said. "Let's go… fishing, again." Toothless jumped down from his perch.

"You don't have to do that today," Astrid said. "I caught enough fish for the dragons. They're at the camp. You need to come there, too. How long has it been since you've had a good meal?"

"Umm… remember the morning before you met Toothless?" She nodded, puzzled. "Yeah, it was that morning."

"Then it's been over a month. You're looking even thinner than ever, and that's saying something. Come on, let's get some food in you."

"You don't have to. I'm the enemy of your tribe."

"Are you really?" she asked. She stood up. "You're coming with me, and I won't take 'no' for an answer. C'mon, Stormfly, let's take Hiccup to get something to eat," she said, motioning the Deadly Nadder to follow her.

"Stormfly?" I questioned.

"Well, I have to call her something," Astrid responded, nodding toward the Nadder.

Earlier that year, I never would have guessed it. Astrid had made friends with a dragon.

We followed her through the forest, to a spot near some waterfalls. There, they had set up camp.

Astrid opened a bundle and revealed a wheel of cheese. She cut out a large chunk for me, and I sat on the ground, eating with vigor. Food had never before tasted so good! Seeing how hungry I was, Astrid also gave me some biscuits.

"Why are you doing this for me?" I asked. "I'm the enemy."

"I don't think you're the enemy," Astrid said. "And I don't think dragons are the enemy. But I also don't think vikings are the enemy."

"Then who is the enemy?" I pondered aloud.

"I don't know," she admitted. "Or, actually, maybe I do."

She was about to say more when a shout sounded through the woods. "Astrid!"

We froze. It was Snotlout. Then I scrambled to my feet and jumped on Toothless. "Go, go!" Astrid whispered. "I'll make sure Snotlout stays back here."

She turned to the Deadly Nadder, hesitatingly reaching out to touch her. "You go too, Stormfly. I don't want him to see you." Stormfly rested her head against Astrid's hand for a second, then turned close to Toothless.

We took off, flying low to the ground to avoid being seen above the trees. We dropped lower to the ground after going over a cliff. We skipped off the ground, then circled ninety degrees and flew up again. We kept flying until we reached a meadow a long way away from the camp.

We landed in the woods near the edge of the field. Stormfly and Toothless eagerly dashed to some tall dragon nip, rolling around in it. I wandered over to the last trees of the forest, just ambling around.

I looked out of the trees and saw Fishlegs, sitting on a log at the edge of the field. He sat with his back toward me. I stared at him.

Fishlegs was never like the others. He was always just as scared of facing dragons as I was. He never liked to rush into the thick of the fights. He was a thinker.

But he wanted to kill dragons.

Then again, so had I.

I circled around the corner of the field so I was in front and to the side of him, about fifty feet away. Fishlegs was looking down, drawing or writing in his notebook.

Quietly, I stepped out of the trees, being careful not to rustle the tall grass. I approached him, stopping about five feet away. I saw that he was sketching some leaves from a plant near him.

"Is that Meadowsweet?" I asked.

Fishlegs jumped up, screaming, and stumbled over the back of the log. Scooting backwards, he grabbed his knife and held it out with both arms, trembling.

"I-I don't know what you want with me, but you won't have it, Hiccup!"

"Relax," I said. "I'm not going to cause trouble."

"Why are you here?" he shouted, terrified. "Didn't you do enough damage on Berk?"

I pulled my knife out and dropped it to the ground and kicked it to the side, just like I had done with Toothless. I held my arms out to the sides, showing that I had no other weapons. "I'm unarmed," I said. "And my dragon is a ways away. I can't hurt you." I looked into his eyes. "And I'm defenseless."

His chest was pumping up and down from his breathing, and I could see him beginning to sweat.

"Maybe you should turn me in. There's nothing stopping you."

Still, he made no move forward. He just continued to stare at me.

"Remember all the times you got excited about something," I said, quietly, "and the others didn't care?"

He slowly nodded. "You cared, though."

"Yeah, I did."

"And it really made me happy that you cared." He slowly lowered his knife. "But I wouldn't show it, because… well…."

I nodded in understanding. "Because I was too much of a loser."

He shifted his eyes away from me. "Well..."

"I know, Fishlegs. That's why I wanted to kill a dragon so badly. I wanted to be one of you guys."

"You had the chance," he said.

"I know. But I discovered that I wasn't one of you. I was something else. I wasn't a dragon killer."

Fishlegs stood up. "You were always different," he said. His eyes clouded over. "But look what that's caused."

"It has, hasn't it? But I need to protect the dragons. They're… they're my friends. They're loyal to me. And my own tribe… my own father…" my voice trailed off. I was afraid that my voice would crack if I continued.

"But the Outcasts? You're better than that. They would love to overrun Berk."

"It- it's only temporary. Just long enough to save the dragons."

Fishlegs sighed, his shoulders slumping. "Look, Snotlout's angry at you. He's likely to hurt you if he knows you're here. But… he won't know. At least, he won't hear it from me."

"Thank you," I said, gratefully. I returned to the dragons, mounted Toothless, and sped away.


	14. Chapter 14

The next day went by without incident. At least, it did until late afternoon. As Toothless and I were wandering through the forest, the sun shining golden through the trees, I realized that something wasn't right. It was too quiet.

"Stay here, Bud," I told him. "Stay out of sight." I didn't want anyone to hurt him, and I knew that the area was too thickly wooded to properly fight on him. I fearfully made my way forward.

Something fell on top of me. I yelled in pain as it knocked me to the ground. Another something dropped from a tree right in front of me.

The twins.

Tuffnut was on top of me; Ruffnut in front of me.

"Ow! Was it really necessary to tackle me?" I protested.

"Uh, no," Tuffnut said. "I just did it for fun."

Ruffnut helped him up as she spoke. "We have reached a decision," she said. "A decision long awaited, I'm sure."

"We have decided," her brother continued for her, "that we will give you another chance. Because family matters to us. Without it, we'd… probably do the same thing as you."

"Except not on a Night Fury," Ruffnut clarified. "We may be crazy, but we're not _that_ crazy."

"Another chance?" I asked. "What do you mean?"

"You have one chance to prove to us that dragons aren't the monsters all vikings know they are."

I began to think furiously. "Um, I… I… Uh…." I began to stutter. Tuffnut tapped his foot on the ground, impatient. At that moment, a Terrible Terror sprang out from the bushes. It jumped on Tuffnut's face and started biting his nose, just like the one in the ring did. I guess dragons just have a thing for Tuffnut's nose.

I pulled my knife out, and used the sun's reflection on it to distract the Terrible Terror. It dropped down and scurried after the sunbeam, toward me. As it reached me, Tuffnut was yelling, "Oh, I am hurt, I am very much hurt!"

The little dragon rubbed against my boots. I tucked my knife back into my belt, reached down, and picked it up. It cuddled close to me as I held it against my chest.

Tuffnut, still holding his nose, stared at me as if I were crazy. Ruffnut was doubled over, laughing.

"What are you laughing at?" Tuffnut demanded.

Ruffnut straightened up, a smile still on her face. "The viking who can't handle a little toy-sized dragon," she said.

Ruffnut and Tuffnut began to argue again. They didn't notice as Toothless came bounding up from behind, with the Hideous Zippleback we rescued from the dragon fighting arena trotting behind him. I stared as Toothless led the Zippleback over to the twins.

Ruffnut and Tuffnut were batting their heads against each other, their helmets absorbing most of the impact.

"Yeah, well, I think your ancestors were muttonheads!" Tuffnut shouted.

"My ancestors are _your_ ancestors, doofus!" Ruffnut shot back.

"Precisely!" Tuffnut cried, as he continued his skirmish with Ruffnut.

The Hideous Zippleback started to move its heads along with the movements of the twins. The gas breathing head followed along with Ruffnut, while the sparking head followed along with Tuffnut. They batted their heads against each other, ending up with their necks tangling up with each other. It let out a small, confused, grumbling sound.

The twins simultaneously looked up, distracted from their fight. They stared, wide eyed, at the entangled Zippleback for a second. The gas breathing head let out a tiny cloud of gas, staring at the twins, pitifully.

Ruffnut laughed. "Look at him barf up that gas," she marveled.

"Let's hope the other head belches up a spark," Tuffnut agreed. "That would be… beautiful." He wiped a tear off his cheek.

Both dragon and twins continued to stare at each other in wonder. The Zippleback slowly untangled its necks and lowered its heads toward the twins. Hesitatingly, they each reached out and touched the heads closest to them.

Toothless cooed as he watched them somehow bond with each other.

"You'd better be sorry for dragging me away that day in the ring, Belch," Tuffnut muttered to the head that was rubbing against him. But he didn't sound irritated at all.

The sun was getting closer to the horizon. Ruffnut sighed as she looked at her side of the dragon. "Barf, we're gonna have to leave," she said. "Don't let my idiot brother fool you. We aren't as gullible as you think. So we'll know if you try to ditch us before we see you again."

As the twins made their way into the forest, I saw Toothless sitting there with his ears perked up, looking happy.

"You knew, didn't you, Bud?" I asked. "You knew they'd take to each other."


	15. Chapter 15

It was harder than ever before to go with the Outcasts that night. But what else could I do?

We raided Berk, setting small fires to fences. The dragons all circled around, lighting the fires, then shot upwards into the air to escape the vikings scrambling to put the fires out.

Alvin had explained that we wanted to strike fear into the people of Berk. What better way to do it than to surround them with fire?

We wouldn't hurt anyone. We'd just scare them.

That's all.

I shook my head to clear those thoughts. I needed to focus.

A fence near a small house caught fire. The fire spread toward the house, closer, closer…

A woman ran out, clutching a baby. She screamed as the flames nearly leaped onto her and the baby, missing by only inches.

Toothless and I swooped down. I don't think anyone saw us against the flickering shadows as Toothless's broad wings blew air on the fire, sweeping it away from the woman and her house.

I saw Stoick coming down the road, and he looked furious.

Urging Toothless up, I made sure we couldn't been seen. We sped out of the village and down to the Outcast Ship just offshore, in plain sight of the village if anyone had the time to look during the chaos.

We landed on the ship. "That was too close," I said. "That wasn't the plan. We could've killed people!"

"Relax, boy," Alvin said. "The point is, you didn't. And the people of Berk aren't hunting dragons too much now, are they?"

"I- I don't think we can keep doing this."

"And what would you do then? Leave us, too? You're an Outcast. Don't forget it." His voice was husky and loud.

My shoulders sagged. Of course I couldn't forget it. I had nowhere else to turn to, not if I wanted to save the dragons. "When's the next raid?" I asked.

"This next one's going to be big. Give us three days to prepare, then meet us at Outcast Island."

"I'll be there," I promised. Toothless took off, flying away, with the other dragons following behind.

We didn't go all the way to Dragon Island. We stopped at some sea stacks off the coast, dropping down flat against the ground on top, over fifty feet above the ocean.

I tumbled off Toothless. I knelt, doubled over, on the ground. I couldn't get that woman's face out of my mind. I could have killed her. I could have killed her baby.

I felt nauseated. My stomach was empty, so I could only dry heave as I knelt there. The woman's scream echoed inside my head… I shook my head, muttering the words "I did this" over and over.

I curled up in a little ball as I tried to shut my mind off. I didn't want to be doing this. I couldn't.

But I was in too deep. I couldn't get out of this now.

Toothless gently nudged me. I reached out my hand and laid it on his head. He settled down next to me.

I must have drifted off to sleep eventually. But I didn't sleep well for a long time. I dreamed of fires, of screams, of dragons wrecking havoc on the village. Toothless and I were in the center, urging them on.

I dreamed that as I was on Toothless, I looked toward the edge of the village. I saw myself there, with my invention. I shot it at a dark streak in the sky. Toothless.

I was no different than the others.

Panting, I sat up, awake once more. It was still the middle of the night. Why did I dream of the morning I shot Toothless? I wasn't one of those people anymore. I didn't just fight whatever I was afraid of.

Or maybe…

No! I wasn't one of them!

Wiping sweat from my face, I lay back down. I tried to stop trembling. I wanted to sleep, a deep sleep. I wanted to forget the events of the night.

I wanted to be done with this. But I never could be.


	16. Chapter 16

I woke up again. It was morning. Toothless had his wing wrapped around me, just like he did on Crescent Island. The other dragons had arranged themselves in a defensive position around me and Toothless.

Crawling to the edge of the sea stack, I looked down. The ocean was beautiful, with a mist appearing a few feet above it. Like everything was alright, normal, peaceful.

I didn't know how I had gotten to sleep, but I felt more refreshed. I was still confused, though. Maybe I'd talk to Astrid about it.

A few minutes later, Toothless and I were soaring in the sky. The clear air helped me feel better about things.

We flew lower, skimming above the tree tops on Dragon Island. When we landed in a small clearing, I felt something give way with the stirrup.

I got off Toothless and started fiddling with the stirrup. A small connecting piece had broken off. That was no problem; I had more. I reached inside Toothless's saddle bag and grabbed a replacement.

As I replaced the piece, Toothless stiffened and looked alert. "What's wrong, Bud?" I asked him.

I followed his gaze to the edge of the clearing. I couldn't see anything. Toothless went to toward whatever he heard, investigating. He went into the woods several yards, so I could barely see him.

Without any kind of warning, I felt someone tackle me from behind. The person shoved me downwards, into the dirt. His strong grip tightened on the back of my neck, pushing my face sideways into the ground.

The pressure changed, and I was shoved over onto my back. I was looking up into the face of my cousin. Snotlout.

He straddled me, holding me to the ground. His larger frame and brawny muscles gave me no chance. He pulled out a hunting knife from his belt and held it above my neck.

"How could you do this?" he demanded. "Do you realize what you've done?"

"Snotlout, please. Let's- let's talk this over," I begged.

"What is there to say? You're a traitor to our tribe, to our village, to our _family_. You've brought pain and dishonor to us all! I hate you!" He moved the knife closer to my throat.

I looked Snotlout in the eyes. I could tell by their cold fury that he meant business. But still, they wavered for a second. His hand trembled, and he paused, staring at the knife for several long, terrifying seconds.

I heard a fierce growl coming from behind. Snotlout jumped up when he saw Toothless spring out from the bushes at the side. Toothless shot a warning blast by Snotlout's feet.

I could see Snotlout trembling as he tried to back up. There was a large tree behind him; he couldn't go any further. Toothless slowly advanced toward him, growling. He looked to the sides, but Toothless was too close to him.

"Stay back, dragon!" he ordered fearfully, holding out his knife at arm's reach. I could see him sweating fearfully as Toothless continued to growl at him.

"You ready to talk this out now?" I asked.

Snotlout scowled. "Fine. Just call off your dragon."

I walked over to Toothless and put my hand on him. "Here, Bud," I said. Toothless stopped growling.

"Now let's sit down and talk," I told Snotlout. He looked nervously at Toothless before slipping to the side and sitting down on a log.

I sat next to him. Toothless lay down in front of us, keeping a close eye on Snotlout.

We sat in silence for a minute, Snotlout refusing to look in my direction. I remained patient; I wanted him to speak first.

Eventually, still looking the other way, Snotlout blurted out, "At first, I didn't mind that you were gone." He paused. "After you, I'm next in line for chief, you know."

"I know."

"Stoick has been training me in the traditions and treaties a chief has to know," he continued. "And at first it was great."

"But then?"

"It's taking a toll on him, Hiccup. You can see it in his eyes, and in the way he carries himself. You betrayed him. You betrayed our family."

"I- I had to do it."

"Would you say that if you saw the way he sighs whenever someone says your name? Would you say that if you saw him slumped over whenever he's by himself? Would you say that if you saw _Stoick the Vast_ wipe away tears when he thought no one was looking? Would you?!" he demanded.

"He sent me away," I said. "He wants nothing more to do with me. He disowned me."

"You made a choice!"

"A choice to protect my friends."

"What about the rest of your friends? What about your family?"

"Toothless is my family now. The dragons are my friends."

"No, Hiccup! I'm talking about your flesh and blood. Don't we matter to you?"

"Of course you do. But I can't abandon the dragons. They're not the monsters we always thought they were."

"Then who is?"

"I don't- I don't know. It- it- it's not as it should be. It's all a mess." I felt my eyes fill up with tears and angrily blinked them back. I saw Snotlout's face soften for a split second.

"You've brought dishonor on the Haddock clan, and even to the Jorgenson clan." His father, Spitelout, is Stoick's half brother, and he has a different last name. "You've brought pain to your father."

"He's not my father anymore. You heard him say that." Now, a tear rolled down my cheek. I didn't make a move to stop it. I didn't care anymore.

"No. He is your father. Nothing can change that. And I'm your cousin. Nothing can change that."

"Which is why you just tried to kill me," I said sarcastically.

"I was going to kill the person who wrecks havoc on our village and broke my uncle's spirit," he said. "But I looked into your eyes and I saw not just a rebel, but… my cousin."

"And that's why your hand trembled," I realized. "You weren't scared."

"No. No, I wasn't scared of spilling blood. I was just… scared of spilling my cousin's blood. I'm glad your dragon stopped me." He shuddered. "I'm supposed to be a warrior, not a murderer."

He paused, and we sat there in silence again. Then, he said, "Hiccup… come back to us."

"I… I can't. I'm in too deep. I can't back out now." I jumped to my feet. "I have to go," I said, my voice thick. "Here, Toothless. Let's go." With Toothless by my side, I ran away. When I looked back, Snotlout stood there, staring sadly after me.


	17. Chapter 17

Toothless and I stayed out of sight for the rest of the day. I could hardly believe it. Snotlout had always disdained me. He only paid me any mind after I had appeared to be successful in the ring. And now, he had every right to hate me.

But he didn't. Because he was family.

I slammed my fist against the rock floor of the cave, angry with myself. Outside, a severe storm was raging. I could hear the hail beating against the ground as lightning lit up the surroundings. The storm was almost as wild as my emotions.

The storm subsided by that night, turning into a gentle rain. The sound lulled me to sleep.

The next morning came. The sky was bright and clear once again, but my mood hadn't changed much. I wanted only to go back to sleep to block it all out. But, the dragons had to eat, and I was worried about them if they fished for themselves. A dragon is vulnerable when it is focused on fishing, and I didn't want anyone killing one of them.

I had Toothless hold the other dragons behind a ways as I strolled across the island to a good fishing spot. As we passed through a misty glade, I heard Stormfly squawk happily, breaking from the brush behind me. She ran past me and stopped just short of a group of trees.

"Stormfly," Astrid cried happily, stepping out from behind a tree. "I missed you, girl." She patted Stormfly's head, moving her hand carefully around the Nadder's many spines.

After a minute, she looked at me. "Oh, Hiccup, you're here too," she said brightly.

"Yep. I'm here. Whatever I am now," I said.

Her expression sobered. "What do you mean?" she asked.

"I don't know. I'm just… not who I was. I don't know what I'm doing now. I can't turn back, but I also can't go forward. I'm just… I'm just stuck. I want to get out of this, this mess."

"Why don't you?" she asked.

"I can't. I can't turn my back on this now. I can't get away. I can't let them find the dragons' nest. They'd kill the dragons, and- and- and..." I slammed my fist against my arm. "And I can't." I groaned. "Snotlout was going to slit my throat," I said.

Astrid gasped, her eyes wide. "How'd you get away?" she asked. "When did you see Snotlout?"

"I came across him yesterday," I said. "He was going to kill me… I guess you know why." Astrid nodded somberly. "But he- he didn't. He said he couldn't kill his own family. And he said that family is family, no matter what."

"He's right, you know."

"Maybe. But look at them." I gestured toward the dragons from the arena. Barf and Belch playfully chased the Gronkle. The Monstrous Nightmare watched in amusement as Toothless and Stormfly play wrestled with each other. "These dragons are my family, too."

Astrid looked straight into my eyes. I stared back into hers. Suddenly, she brightened up. "Hiccup, I've got an idea. Are you willing to try it?"

"I'll try anything," I told her. "Anything you say."

"Be at our camp tomorrow afternoon," she said. "Bring the dragons." With that, she ran off, a hopeful tint coloring her cheeks.


	18. Chapter 18

The next afternoon arrived slowly, but it finally arrived. I climbed onto Toothless's back and we flew over to the camp. I wasn't afraid of anyone seeing me anymore; they all had.

We landed in the camp. Everything was still there, but it was empty. Puzzled, I jumped off Toothless and started wandering around the tents.

"Hello?" I called. "Astrid? We're here."

I noticed that the coals of their campfire were still smoking. They hadn't been gone long.

I knelt down by the fire, perplexed. There were still crumbs of bread around the fire pit. They had left in a hurry.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw some leaves of underbrush rustling, but I couldn't see anyone. The rustling stopped.

I sat back. "Come here, Bud. Looks like we have a little wait," I said. Toothless came over. I scratched him under the chin. He flopped down and rolled happily on the ground. I smiled as he began to purr.

"You really love that dragon, don't you?" Snotlout asked, stepping out of the underbrush.

I looked up at him. "Yeah. Yeah, I do."

Toothless sat up and began to coo. The Monstrous Nightmare came out of the woods on the other side of camp. Snotlout stiffened. He watched, frozen still, as the Nightmare came closer to him, sniffing. I saw Snotlout's jaw clench, then relax as he continued to stare the dragon in the eyes. "I've never noticed how majestic he was," Snotlout breathed. He reached out his hand, still hesitating.

I slowly came to Snotlout's side. I guided his trembling hand toward the Nightmare's snout. He made contact with the dragon, and a smile spread across his face. He even laughed a little as he felt the Nightmare nuzzle against his hand.

I backed off. "Where are you going?" Snotlout blurted out nervously. I just smiled as I watched him relax a little again.

"You're not so bad," Snotlout said to the dragon. "You're okay."

He sat down, and the Nightmare settled next to him. Snotlout cautiously stroked the dragon's wing.

Astrid, Fishlegs, and the twins came into the camp from the side of the waterfall. Barf and Belch came running up to the twins. The heads tried to go around a tree in different directions, causing the dragon to fall to the ground. Ruffnut and Tuffnut ran to the Zippleback and began stroking it's heads.

"Well, look at that," Astrid said wryly. "They found some fellow nuts."

"I'll have you know that 'muttonhead' is our preferred term," Tuffnut shot back at her.

Stormfly ran over to Astrid. "Hey, girl," Astrid said.

The Gronkle buzzed into camp, looking confused. "Aww, look at the Gronkle," sighed Fishlegs. "He has no one with him."

We all stared at Fishlegs.

"Oh," he said, quietly, looking scared.

The Gronkle saw him and landed, trotting over. Fishlegs looked at me for directions.

I nodded. "You'll know what to do," I said. Fishlegs slowly turned back to the Gronkle. "Hey," he said quietly. He reached out and touched the Gronkle. The normally fierce-looking creature started licking his face. Fishlegs laughed. "Awww."

"I have to hand it to you, Hiccup," Astrid said. "We all thought you were the worst viking Berk had ever seen. Turns out, you were just the opposite."

"Thanks, Astrid," I said. "But I don't think so."

"Why not?"

"I'm an Outcast. I'm not wanted on Berk. I'm not one of them. They're afraid of the dragons, so they fight them. I don't fight everything I'm afraid of." I drew a shaky breath.

"N- no, I- I don't- I don't fight…" I sank onto my knees and covered my face with my hands. I could hear the others turning toward me in concern.

"I do fight. I fight what I'm afraid of. I've become what I've been fighting." I looked up at their confused faces. "Surely there's another way… I need to get out of this. I've made a mess." I groaned. "I made a mess out of everything. Everyone was fighting against monsters. And now I'm one of them. I'm everything I've always hated. And I don't know how to fix it." I slumped my shoulders hopelessly.

"There's a way out," Astrid said. "There's got to be. We're right here with you. The question isn't how you fix it, it's how we all fix it, as a team."

I looked at the sun slowly sinking. "No. There… there isn't that simple an answer. Not yet. But I'm going to end this. Soon. Starting tonight. I won't… I won't be in your way any longer." I jumped onto Toothless's back and we shot up into the air.

"Hiccup, wait!" Snotlout called. I halted Toothless and we hovered, turning around.

"Come back," Astrid begged.

"I… I'll try. But no promises. Please. I have to do this." It hurt to look at the others, their faces turned upward, silently pleading with me. "I have to make things right," I said.

"Be careful," Astrid said, blinking away tears.

I nodded. "I will," I whispered. Toothless and I turned away. The other dragons rose up and followed us. I had to figure something out… fast!


	19. Chapter 19

We arrived at Outcast Island once again. It looked gloomy against the dark sky. Alvin stood on the pier next to the ship that would take us to Berk.

"Well, now, look who's here," he said.

"Let's spare the pleasantries. The fact is, I can't do this forever."

"You're right, boy, you can't. That's why we're going to strike hard and fast. I have a proposal for you, Hiccup. If we do this plan, the people of Berk won't be able to hunt dragons for months!"

"Alright, let say we accept this proposal. What's the plan?"

Alvin laughed roughly. "I mean the armory of Berk!" he said. "Take away their weapons, and they can't fight dragons, now, can they?"

"You'll leave them defenseless!"

"Not completely. Just whatever is in their armory. They'll still have the weapons from their homes."

I thought about it. Something didn't seem right. But… Alvin had a point. If we left the villagers of Berk with only a few weapons, they wouldn't be able to hunt the dragon's nest for months. Not until Gobber had made more. And maybe by then, I could convince them…

Alvin placed his huge hand on my shoulder, leading me, still riding on Toothless, onto the ship as his men got ready to shove off. "This attack is a change of plans from the others," he said. "Your dragon will provide you with cover fire, see? You'll sneak in and take out the viking guarding the armory."

"Whoa, whoa, hold up," I said. "I can't take out a guard! And I don't want to hurt anyone, remember?"

"Don't worry about it. You'll take out the guard with this." Alvin lifted a large battle hammer up off the ship's deck. "And you won't kill him, just knock him out for a few minutes. A little runt like you wouldn't be able to kill him, anyway."

"Why this elaborate set up?" I asked. "Why so complicated? Why don't I just blaze in on Toothless and take the place out?"

"We'll keep yer dragon to cover you from behind," Alvin explained. "Hopefully, they won't even see him. And you'll wear a helmet that covers your face. If anyone sees you, they won't even know who you are."

"Why the secrecy?"

"I want to make them angry at me, not you," Alvin said. "Then, when they restock their armory, they'll attack Outcast Island instead of looking for your dragon nest. I'll have the even battlefield you insist I have, and they'll leave the dragons alone. We both win."

I thought about it. It didn't add up, but… I had to do this. It would stop these attacks for several months. I had to do this one more time.

"Alright. I'll- I'll do it. If I can."

"Remember, block out the feelings. You're doing this for the dragons. Don't let the feelings get in your way. You're helping everyone."

"Yeah," I said, with an empty feeling inside my stomach. "I'm… helping."


	20. Chapter 20

We arrived at Berk, bringing the ship straight against the tall cliffs. I placed the helmet over my head. I could see out of it better than I expected.

I climbed onto Toothless's back. The other dragons stayed behind on the ship, ready to come if they heard trouble. Toothless and I slipped upwards into the night. We landed at the edge of the village, near the armory.

I slid off Toothless. He slipped backwards into the shadows. I ducked into the shadows myself, a little ways in front of Toothless.

I slowly, silently approached the armory. I could see a viking standing with his back to me. I couldn't make out who he was in the dim light.

I went closer, closer. "Block out the feelings," I whispered. "I'm helping everyone. Block out the feelings."

I struggled to lift the giant hammer, hoisting it onto my shoulder. I nearly fell backwards under the weight.

Shifting the weight around, I moved forward again. I got within twenty-five feet of the guard.

At that point, I stopped trying to be quiet. My feet pounding, I ran toward him. "Don't feel," I whispered to myself as I ran.

I was almost upon the viking as he turned around. I stopped short, my arms raised for the strike.

It was Gobber.

I froze for a second, the battle hammer falling from my hands. Gobber pushed the hammer safely away from him as it fell.

Turning, I ran as fast as I could. But despite his peg leg, Gobber was faster. He tackled me to the ground. "Alright, you!" Gobber shouted. He raised his arm, which now had his battle ax prosthetic screwed into it. "Let's see how well you really fight! Let's face each other like men!"

Gobber ripped off my helmet. He started back in shock, releasing me.

"I… I… I'm only trying to help everyone," I said, backing off.

"You don't need to do this, Hiccup," Gobber said. His expression reflected sadness.

"I… I…" I shook my head. "There's nothing else. There's… there's…" My eyes widened. "There's something," I realized. It didn't matter what the cost was; I had to stop the fighting. "I'll put an end to this!" I vowed. "If there's one change to settle this without bloodshed, I have to try."

I turned around and ran. I could hear Gobber calling after me as I circled around, looking for Toothless.

I couldn't find him anywhere. Outside the village by now, I ducked around a tree, searching. I felt someone grab me from behind. They put their hand over my mouth; I couldn't call out. The person roughly twisted me around. It was an Outcast.

I heard Alvin's laughter as he stepped out from behind another tree. "Surprise! We won't be needing your help anymore." He motioned to some more of his men who were dragging Toothless along. They had muzzled him and tied him up. He couldn't fight back.

I saw more of his men pulling the other dragons along. They had done the same things to them.

I felt another Outcast yanking my hands behind my back, tying them tightly. I couldn't even budge them. He tied my feet as well, even though I struggled to kick him. The blows didn't even seem to make the Outcast flinch.

Last of all, the Outcast who held his hand over my mouth released it. Before I could say anything, the other one shoved some cloths in my mouth and tied some over my mouth, keeping them in. I couldn't make a sound; I could barely breathe. They let go of me, and I lost my balance and fell onto my knees.

I felt someone grab my hair and force me to look up at Alvin. "They don't call me 'the Treacherous' for nothing, boy! Do you really think we'd let a little runt and his dragon control us forever?" He laughed sinisterly. "You fell right into our hands the moment you got off your dragon." He saw me struggling against the ropes, barely able to move. "Don't waste your time."

I was a fool, I realized. They always had a plan to get rid of me, I should have known.

I saw a rough sack being dropped over my head. Within a second, the whole thing covered me, and it was twisted shut on top. Someone roughly threw it over his shoulder.

"Let's go," Alvin said. "Let's get the warriors of Berk out of the picture."

I felt forward movement as the sack bounced on the Outcast's back. His armor was hard and sharp, and I was already losing feeling in my hands. I tried to struggle, but when I moved, the cloths gagging me made it harder to breathe. It felt like we were walking forever, even though I knew it was just a few minutes.

I heard a huge door slamming open. By the sounds of people, I realized that it was the Great Hall. Both Gobber and Stoick's voices stood out in the confused din.

People gasped as they realized what was happening. I heard swords being pulled out of their sheaths. People were muttering… "Alvin!" "Dragons!" "Night Fury!"

The Outcasts seemed to be going up to Stoick. "I have a proposition for you," said Alvin. "A deal that you will find quite beneficial to get rid of your little dragon problem."

"Say what you have to say and be gone," Stoick said.

"Now is that any way to talk to an old friend?" Alvin sneered. "Of course it isn't. Especially when this old friend brings the solution to finding… the dragons' nest."

I heard some gasps shooting throughout the people.

"That's right, you heard me," Alvin said. "As it turns out, this Night Fury is highly intelligent. We wouldn't expect anything less from the unholy offspring of lightning and death itself, now would we? It can lead you right to the nest."

"What kind of trick is this?" Stoick demanded.

"What? Me? Trick you?" Alvin asked in mock disbelief. "Not a trick. I'm merely profiting off your boy's generosity. After all, he wants to put an end to this."

I could hear the people murmuring. Gobber had evidently told them what I said to him. But this wasn't what I had meant.

"The boy is willing," Alvin went on, "to sell his dragons to you. The Outcasts get a cut of the profit, of course. In return for you buying the dragons, they'll never attack you again, and the Night Fury will lead you to the nest."

"Where is Hiccup now?" Stoick challenged him.

"This is a very emotional moment for him," Alvin said. "He couldn't bear to watch it himself. But he wants to end the fighting."

Stoick was quiet for a minute. "Name your price," he said.

"Four hundred pieces of gold," Alvin said, "and the whole lot of dragons can be yours. We'll even bring them down to your ring and lock them up for you."

"And Hiccup agreed to this?" Stoick asked again. "You're not hurting him, are you?"

"Why do you care about the little runt? He is only guilty of high treason against you."

" _Did he agree to this_?" Stoick thundered.

"Testy, now, aren't we? Yes, the boy agreed."

Stoick sighed. "Fine. Your price is fair, for the safety of my people." He paused. "Load up the ships," he said. "We leave to find the dragons' nest in the morning.


	21. Chapter 21

I was held there for several more minutes. Then, I felt myself being moved through the village. Abruptly, I was dumped down on hard ground, and I heard the dragons being dragged next to me. A heavy door was slammed shut, and a giant sounding bolt went into place.

The ring. The dragons, except for Toothless, and I were locked up in a cage in the ring.

There was no escape. I couldn't even budge my hands. My knife was too far to my side for me to reach. The dragons couldn't help; they were also tied up.

I couldn't think much. I just tried to breathe without choking on the gag. I'm not sure how long I stayed like that. Eventually, I drifted off into a troubled sleep.

There was a noise. My eyes shot open, but of course I couldn't see anything through the sack.

The noise sounded again. It was the bolt unlocking. My heart started racing.

The door swung open. I heard footsteps running in. "Stormfly!" Astrid gasped. I heard the other teens all rushing to their dragons.

The next thing I heard was the snapping of ropes. They must have cut the dragons loose, because the dragons all rushed over toward me.

"Why are the dragons looking at that old sack?" Tuffnut asked.

"I don't know, but it looks great to play kick-bag with," his sister said.

"Guys, we need to find Hiccup, not play 'kick-bag,'" Fishlegs pointed out.

"Oh, come on, haven't you ever heard of stress management?" Tuffnut said. I felt his boot come in contact with my shins. It was painful, but I couldn't even grunt.

"Ow! That bag must be full of rocks!" exclaimed Tuffnut.

"Let me try," Ruffnut said eagerly. She kicked me hard in the stomach. "You doofus! That's soft!" she told Tuffnut.

"What? No," her brother disagreed. He kicked my shins again. "See? Hard."

Ruffnut kicked my stomach. "No. Soft."

Their back and forth debate continued for perhaps twenty seconds, with them kicking me each time.

"Why don't you just look inside the bag to see what's in it?" Snotlout asked, sounding impatient.

Tuffnut fumbled around with the twisted top. He opened it, and I squinted at even the dim light that entered.

"Oh, hey, Hiccup. What are you doing in there?"

All at once, I heard the others shout, "Hiccup!"

Fishlegs pulled me out of the bag. I struggled to breathe as Snotlout cut my hands free of the ropes, making slow progress because of how tight they were.

Noticing the gag, Astrid untied it from behind my head and pulled the cloths out of my mouth. I gasped for a deep breath of air, just sitting there, panting, for a minute. Snotlout finished cutting the rope off my wrists and started work on the rope around my ankles.

Once I had recovered my breath, Astrid said, "We got back here and saw what's happening. Poor Toothless is going to be forced into showing them the dragons' nest."

"What are you guys doing here?" I asked.

"We decided to follow you in case something went wrong," Astrid explained.

"And something sure did go wrong!" Ruffnut said.

"This- this is all my fault," I said.

"Don't worry about it right now," Astrid said. "Let's just see if we can stop them before they get killed!"

Snotlout, Fishlegs, and the twins stayed behind to make sure the dragons were okay. Astrid and I rushed to the edge of the island. I saw now that it was morning.

We ran to the top of the boardwalks leading down to the docks. I rushed to the edge, watching in disappointment as the ships sailed off into the distance.

I had failed. I had failed the dragons. Worse still, I had failed my people. They would get slaughtered by the Red Death.

I stood there in defeat as I saw the ships disappear over the horizon. I was too late.

Astrid came up next to me and was silent for a few seconds. "It's a mess. You must feel horrible. You've lost everything: your father, your tribe, your best friend..."

"Thank you," I said dryly, "for summing that up."

I felt hopeless. "Why couldn't I have killed that dragon when I found him in the woods?" I wondered aloud. "It would've been better, for everyone."

"Yup," Astrid agreed. "The rest of us would've done it. So why didn't you?" She turned toward me. "Why didn't you?"

"I don't know," I mumbled, taking a few steps away. "I couldn't."

"That's not an answer."

I spun around, frustrated. "Why is this so important to you all of a sudden?"

"Because I want to remember what you say, right now."

"Oh, for the love of – I was a coward. I was weak. I wouldn't kill a dragon."

"You said 'wouldn't' that time."

"Okay, whatever! I wouldn't! Three hundred years, and I'm the first viking who wouldn't kill a dragon!" She stared at me, and I turned back around.

After a second, she said, "First to ride one, though. So…"

I lifted my head, a sudden realization hitting me hard.

Turning slowly toward her again, I admitted, "I wouldn't kill him because he looked as frightened as I was. I looked at him, and I saw myself."

"I bet he's really frightened now. What are you going to do about it?"

I shrugged. "Eh, probably something stupid."

"Good, but you've already done that..."

An idea hit me. "Then something crazy," I said, backing up, turning around, and running toward the ring.

Astrid followed me close behind.

I arrived at the ring, staring at the dragons. I wondered if the other teens would go along with my plan.

I turned around as I heard Tuffnut coming up behind me. "You were wise to seek help from the world's most deadly weapon. Uh, it's me," he clarified, as Snotlout pushed him aside.

"I love this plan," Snotlout said to me.

"I didn't…" I began to say.

Ruffnut came up behind him, knocking him out of the way.

"You're crazy," she said. She glanced around and leaned forward. "I like that," she whispered. I leaned backwards, away from her.

Astrid yanked her away from me as I breathed in relief. "So, what is the plan?"

I smiled in gratitude as I saw my friends standing in front of me.

I went over to a crate at the side of the ring. "You're going to need something to help you hold on," I said, pulling out some rope. They looked at me in confusion for a second before turning to look at the dragons. Their faces lit up in realization and apprehension.

I spent the next few minutes teaching them how to do basic maneuvers, but I knew we didn't have much time. The ships would be at Dragon Island by now. So a short time later, we made up our minds.

We were ready.


	22. Chapter 22

We arrived on the bleak shore by the volcano. A thick fog surrounded us. We could see the Red Death. It was outside the volcano; the other dragons had fled the nest. The ships were offshore, aflame. Snotlout's father, Spitelout, was leading the vikings around to the safety of the other side of the island, while Stoick and Gobber were obviously trying to distract the Red Death. It looked even bigger now that we could see all of it.

Stormfly, with both Astrid and me on her, led the way. We swooped around the Red Death. It tried to snap at Barf and Belch as the twins flew close to it. "Ruff, Tuff, watch your backs," I warned them. Seeing Fishlegs in danger, I shouted, "Move, Fishlegs!"

A quick glance down showed Stoick and Gobber staring up in wonder.

"Look at us, we're on dragons! We're on dragons, all of us!" Tuffnut shouted gleefully, waving. Snotlout and Fishlegs cheered.

Spitelout and the other vikings stopped and stared up at us flying.

"Fishlegs, break it down," I told him.

"Okay," he said. "Heavily armored skull, and tail made for bashing and crushing. Stay clear of both." The Red Death had taken a ship in its mouth and smashed it as Fishlegs spoke. "Small eyes, large nostrils, relies on hearing and smell."

"Okay, 'Lout, 'Legs, hang in its blind spot. Make some noise to keep it confused." Snotlout and Fishlegs flew over to try to do so, remembering the dragon fighting training from a month ago.

"Ruff, Tuff, find out if it has a shot limit. Make it mad."

"That's my specialty," Ruffnut called proudly.

"Since when?" Tuffnut challenged. "Everyone knows I'm more irritating. See?" He flipped his head, Belch over, so he dangled upside down over Ruffnut.

"Just do as I told you," I begged. "I'll be back as soon as I can."

"Don't worry, we've got it covered!" Snotlout shouted after me as Astrid and I flew over to the burning ships.

As we flew over the ships, now nearly engulfed in flames, I heard Toothless's roar. "There!" I said. Stormfly turned around and swooped low, hovering over a ship. I jumped onto the ship and sprung to my feet.

Turning back up to Astrid, I shouted "Go help the others!" She and Stormfly flew away through the flames and smoke.

"Okay, hold on, hold on," I said, yanking the muzzle off of Toothless. I tried to use a spear to pry loose the chains holding him down, but made no progress.

The flames spread even further. The Red Death swept its massive tail toward the ship. I yelled in fright as the burning mast broke loose, falling where I was standing a second before.

The next thing I knew, the Red Death's foot crashed on top of the ship, knocking the platform that Toothless was chained down into the water.

As I swam down to save him, I could hear him roar in terror. But as I reached the bottom and started pulling at his chains, he shook his head, trying to urge me up to the surface.

I paid no heed. I kept yanking on the chains to no avail. I noticed things start to get darker as I gave up holding my breath. So peaceful…

A yank from behind! I felt myself being pulled above the water and dragged onto the rocky shore. I sat up, coughing and sputtering. I saw Stoick jumping back into the water.

"Dad?" I asked faintly.

For a moment, nothing happened. Then Toothless sprang out of the water, pulling Stoick behind him. He dropped him on the shore and flapped up to a large boulder, roaring for me to join him so he could fly.

I stood up with a smile on my face. "You got it, Bud," I said, running up to him and getting into the saddle.

"Hiccup!" Stoick said, grabbing my hand. "I'm sorry. For- for everything."

I nodded. "Yeah, me too."

"You don't have to go out there."

"We're vikings," I said. "It's an occupational hazard."

He clasped both his hands around mine. "I'm proud to call you my son."

"Thanks, Dad," I breathed.

Toothless spread his wings and we shot straight up into the sky. I heard Astrid shouting, "He's up!"

Snotlout had ended up falling onto the Red Death's monolithic head. "Get Snotlout out of there!" Astrid yelled over to the twins.

"I'm on it!" "I'm on it!" "I'm on it first!" the twins bickered, shoving each other and the other head of the Zippleback around. "Hey, let me drive!" "No, this way!" "Hey, don't push me."

Somehow, they ended up flying straight toward the top of the Red Death's head. Snotlout ran to the top of a broken horn and jumped as high as he could. He landed on Barf and Belches' shoulders, between the necks.

"I can't believe that worked!" Tuffnut shouted as they flew away.

Astrid tried to follow them. As she passed the Red Death's mouth, it started to suck in air. Stormfly pumped her wings as fast as she could, but to no use. They were rapidly sucked in toward the Red Death's mouth.

I saw all this from the distance. As Astrid and Stormfly were nearly in the monster's mouth, Toothless and I sped in. We made a whistling sound as we went at super speed.

"Night Fury!" someone shouted.

"Get down," Gobber warned.

Toothless shot a plasma blast at the Red Death's jaw. It's mouth snapped shut. Stormfly shot forward, and Astrid fell off, screaming.

Toothless and I continued our course, then flipped and reversed direction. Astrid was getting close to the ground; we had to catch her! We swooped in right above where Astrid was falling.

"Did you get her?" I asked Toothless.

Toothless looked down and roared happily. He had used his legs to catch Astrid. She hung upside down. Toothless tossed her around so she was right-side-up before we set her safely down on the ground.

I looked back at the Red Death as Toothless and I swept upward. "That thing has wings," I realized. They had been folded against its body. "Okay, let's see if it can use them!" Up in the clouds by this point, Toothless rolled over and folded his wings against his body. We flew down, and Toothless let out a plasma blast which hit the Red Death's wings. It roared as it fell to the ground.

Then, it stretched out its wings. "You think that did it?" I asked Toothless as we flew away. As if in response, the Red Death flew up behind us.

"Well, he can fly," I said, glancing at it. I adjusted my foot as we navigated down through the sea stacks which were barely visible through the smoke and fog.

Toothless, being extremely maneuverable and much, much smaller, wound quickly through the rock pillars. The Red Death simply smashed through them. It only slowed the huge dragon down by seconds.

I looked up at the clouds overhead. "Okay, Toothless," I said. "Time to disappear!" I shifted my foot backwards, and we shot up toward the clouds. "Come on, Bud," I cheered him on.

We zig-zagged slightly to stay out of the creature's mouth. It began to make sounds. I had heard those sounds before. Dragons make that noise before they –

"Here it comes!" I shouted. Toothless swerved out of the way just in time to avoid the biggest fire burst I could imagine.

Smoke mixed with clouds now, as Toothless and I tried to disappear deep into the clouds. The Red Death snapped at us, but missed. It stayed as still as it could, looking for us in confusion.

It roared as a plasma blast struck its wing. Toothless and I swept around, doing a barrel roll as we struck it across the other wing. We hit it again and again and again in different places, slipping out of sight each time.

The Red Death roared as it breathed fire – far more than it had before. It swept its head around as it let out a long stream of fire.

"Watch out!" I called as some of it got too close. Toothless's leather tail fin caught fire.

"Okay, time's up," I said, twisting around to look at it. I turned back. "Let's see if this works."

"Come on, that the best you can do?" I taunted the beast as Toothless flew straight toward it. It snapped at us as we swerved back and forth, diving toward the ground. I hoped the tail fin would hold up long enough.

Toothless was nervous as the Red Death nearly caught us. "Stay with me, Buddy, we're good, just a little bit longer."

We continued to dive through the clouds. I could hear the Red Death prepare for a shot. "Hold, Toothless."

"Now!" I shouted. We twisted around, and Toothless shot a plasma blast in the creature's wide opened mouth, already filled with gas for the shot. It roared in pain as we left the low hanging clouds. Toothless and I swept out of its way just in time as it crashed into the ground in a huge ball of fire, seconds later.

We were over its giant back, swerving around its many spines. The fire rushed closer and closer to us.

I moved the stirrup back and forth, looking back to see the tail fin burnt through and falling off.

I looked forward again to see the club-like tail smashing down toward us.

"No. No!" I said in a state somewhere between calm and horror. The tail smashed us, knocking me off Toothless. I fell toward the fire ball still exploding outward. The heat was intense, so intense! I could see Toothless's form coming down toward me as my vision faded to black.

Then, pain. Severe pain. I felt disconnected. My foot hurt. My leg hurt. My head hurt.

My mind was in a fog. It was quiet. It was dark. No, my eyes were closed. "Hiccup! _Hiccup_! Son!" A voice shouted.

My dad. It was my dad. No, that couldn't be. He hated me. No, no, not anymore… he forgave me. He was proud of me.

If only the pain would stop!

My dad was calling me. I had to answer. I had to open my eyes. I couldn't. He was in the distance, I couldn't reach him. I couldn't control my eyes. They were too far away.

I hurt all over now. My one ankle really hurt the most. But I couldn't feel my foot anymore. That was odd. Maybe if the fog in my head would go away, I would know why.

Something was wrapped around me. Like on Crescent Island. Why?

That something shifted. This didn't make sense. Why was I wrapped in something?

Toothless. Toothless was wrapping his wings and legs around me. Why would he do that?

I felt colder. Toothless's wings were moving away from me.

"Hiccup!" It was my dad again. I wanted to answer, to open my eyes. But I couldn't.

A huge hand grabbed behind my shoulders. Another hand smoothed back my hair. I felt a head press to my chest, against my heard.

"He's alive," my dad sobbed. "You brought him back alive!"

Of course I was alive. He'd know that if the fog would let me open my eyes. But I could only lay there in his arms. It felt nice. If only my leg would stop hurting.

Cheering. Lots of people cheering. I couldn't remember why there were people there.

Toothless made some happy cooing sounds.

"Thank you, for saving my son," my dad said softly.

"Well, you know, most of him," Gobber's voice came in.

Now what did _that_ mean?


	23. Chapter 23

I don't know how long I was unconscious, but it was at least a few days. Sometimes I slept, sometimes I could hear and feel things. Voices cut through the fog.

I felt my dad gently put his hands on my arm at one point. At the same time, my leg was in terrible pain. I broke through the fog enough to moan.

"It's alright, Son," my dad's voice drifted in. I twitched my eyes, trying to open them. But the fog came back.

I heard voices drift around. I felt a small hand, washing my face.

"Hiccup… you're gonna be okay," a sweet voice said. Astrid. No, it couldn't be. Astrid would never talk to a loser like me.

No… no, Astrid talked to me now. Why couldn't I remember things right?

Voices and memories came and went. And always this pain, in my head and my leg. Why could I only feel one foot? Why wouldn't my leg stop hurting? Why didn't the fog go away?

My dad was patting my hand. Why was he doing that? Why was I laying down? Why couldn't I talk to him?

The fog. It was the fog.

I started sweating at one point. I remembered the past month. "No, no, no!" I shouted. "I just want to be one of you! I need to kill… no, I can't kill a dragon. I need to prove… I need to run. Stop them from finding the nest. They'll get hurt… no, killed. No, no! I was wrong! I was wrong. My family, my people! The dragons. Doesn't have to be one or the other. No! Gotta fix this!"

I heard my dad rushing to me. He smoothed my hair back. "Shh, shh, it's okay, Son."

"Dad," I muttered. "I messed it all up. I was wrong."

"Shh. I was wrong, too."

"I'm so sorry, Dad." The fog was really thin. I could open my eyes just a crack, seeing his face. Although everything was out of focus, I could see that his eyes were misty. "I'm so, so sorry."

"All is forgiven, Son. All is forgiven."

I smiled a little bit before slipping back into the fog.


	24. Chapter 24

I heard Toothless. He was snorting at me. I opened my eyes. He was sniffing me and nudging me to get me up.

"Hey, Toothless," I mumbled sleepily. He continued to push me to the side of the bed, licking my face. "I'm happy to see you, too, Bud." He stepped on my stomach.

I sat up, groaning. I looked around at my surroundings. "Uhh… ah… I'm in my house." I looked over at Toothless. "You're in my house." He started jumping around, knocking things over.

"Does my dad know you're here?" Toothless came over to me again, urging me to get up. "Uh, what? Oh, okay. Okay."

He started to jump up onto the beams. "Toothl– no, no, Toothless. Toothless!" I was sitting up by now, starting to twist off the bed. "Aw, come on."

I stopped short. Something felt different.

I lifted the blanket off my legs. I was dismayed at what I saw.

Toothless jumped down from the beams, looking at me wide eyed.

I sat there with wide eyes myself. This was going to take some getting used to.

I slumped my shoulders, sighing softly. I may not have liked it, but it was real and would never change.

I lowered my right foot to the floor. Then, slowly, I lowered my left leg. Except it didn't end in a foot.

It ended in a metal prosthetic.

Toothless sniffed it, then looked up at me. I looked into his eyes, trying to find strength.

I took a deep breath, and used the post of my bed to stand up. I leaned heavily on my right leg.

I reached forward with my left leg, limping a step. I quickly caught myself on my right leg again.

I tried to take another step. I lost my balance. I grunted as I fell, but Toothless caught me. He pushed me back up and let me wrap my arm around his neck.

"Thanks, Bud," I said, hopping and limping toward the door with his help.

I let go of him and grabbed the heavy door. Stumbling backwards, I pulled it open. A Monstrous Nightmare was directly outside, roaring at me.

Crying out, I slammed the door, leaning against it.

"Toothless, stay here," I said, going again to open the door. I saw Snotlout on his Monstrous Nightmare, shouting to the other teens.

Who were flying.

On their dragons.

In the middle of the village.

I stepped outside carefully, able to balance a little better now. "Wow," I breathed, looking at the scene that greeted me. There were dragons everywhere, peacefully flying around and coexisting with people.

"I knew it. I'm dead," I said in disbelief.

My dad laughed as he came up behind me. "No, but you gave it your best shot." He guided me down the steps. "So, what do you think?" He gestured toward the village.

"Hey, look, it's Hiccup!" someone shouted. People cheered as they ran toward me, forming a small crowd.

"Turns out, all we needed was a little more of… this," my dad said, motioning toward me.

"You just gestured to all of me."

Nodding, he smiled slightly.

"Well, most of you," Gobber came through the people. He pointed at the complex prosthetic, which was formed to have a sort of hook on the bottom. "That bit's my handiwork, with a little Hiccup flair thrown in. Think it'll do?"

I held my foot at, glancing down. "I might make a few tweaks," I said, shrugging. The vikings around me laughed.

Astrid came up behind me, punching me. I let out a grunt as I stumbled forward. "That's for scaring me."

"Wait, what? What, is it always gonna be this way?"

She grabbed my shirt to pull me closer as she kissed me sweetly on the lips. I barely noticed some ohh's and ahh's from the people around.

"I could get used to it," I admitted as she smiled at me.

Gobber came up just then, handing me a new prosthetic tail for Toothless. "Welcome home," he said.

"Night Fury! Get down!" someone shouted. Toothless came bounding over people, playfully knocking them down. Astrid laughed as she saw my enthralled expression.

I saddled Toothless up, sliding my prosthetic foot into the newly designed stirrup. I opened up his new, brightly colored tail fin, glancing over at Astrid on Stormfly.

"You ready?" I asked Toothless. He shook, eager for a race.

I surveyed my village before taking off, swooping through the sky with Astrid. And I realized that Berk had changed.

Because, I realized, this… is Berk.

It snows nine months of the year, and hails the other three.

Any food that grows here is tough and tasteless.

The people that grow here are even more so.

The only upsides are the pets.

While other places have ponies or parrots, we have…

Dragons!

Astrid and I spun and raced across Berk. Near a large bridge, I went straight up into the sky, Toothless's tongue stuck out to the side in his excitement. Trying to push Toothless just a little higher, I leaned forward in the saddle. My metal foot slipped out of the stirrup, and I slid backwards, falling off Toothless. Falling, falling, falling…

Something was on me. It felt like a blanket.


	25. Chapter 25

_Astrid_

I paced outside Hiccup's house, worried sick. He hadn't woken up since we pulled him out of the cave the day before yesterday. We had bandaged up his cuts and scrapes, and brought him back to his house. Just like years ago, after Hiccup had defeated the Red Death, Stoick had laid him in his own bed on the first floor instead of bringing him upstairs.

"Don't worry so much, Astrid. Gothi told us he'll be fine," Fishlegs tried to reassure me.

"Hiccup fell straight down twenty feet, slammed his head, and has been unconscious for two days now. Of course I'm worried!"

My mind went back to the cave. The opening to that pit was so narrow, only the twins and I were able to fit through. The others had held the rope tightly as we used the rescue skills we had learned from the academy's trainings. It scared me to see Hiccup's pale face against the stone floor, his thin frame a little twisted. He looked a little better once we had cleaned him up, but still… I was scared. I couldn't imagine losing him.

Just then, the door to Hiccup's house flew open and Stoick stepped outside. "He's beginning to move!"

We rushed inside. Although I was a little behind Fishlegs, Snotlout, and the twins, I raced past them and ran through the door first. Gobber was by Hiccup's bedside, changing the bandage on his hand after applying an ointment Gothi had made. Hiccup was beginning to stir, his eyelids just twitching.

"Hiccup," I coaxed, gently touching his cheek. "C'mon, Hiccup, look at me!"

He opened his eyes slowly, focusing clearly on me for the first time in weeks. "Astrid?"


	26. Chapter 26

_Hiccup_

I didn't understand it. Why was I laying down? Why was Astrid there? I thought I was racing her. She looked older somehow, and even prettier than ever, if that was possible. I felt funny. Taller.

Astrid smiled in relief. "Hiccup, you're okay!"

"Of course I'm okay. We were just flying through the village… how did I get here? Did I fall off Toothless?"

My dad came next to me. "Hiccup, don't you remember?"

"Yeah… I just woke up after fighting the Red Death."

"You've been unconscious the past two days. After you fell down the tunnel. Do you remember that?"

The tunnel. How did they know?

"Yeah… I lost my balance and fell down… it was the door to change the past. But things ended up the same."

Fishlegs looked intrigued. "What do you remember happening, Hiccup?"

"I… I fell through, and fell, and then woke up again the morning I was supposed to kill Hookfang in the ring. But the Terrible Terror I released interrupted before Toothless was captured and I got onto him. And I joined the Outcasts, and a month passed, and then it all happened like it did… oh, you know!" I told him.

"You didn't join the Outcasts, Hiccup," Astrid told me. "Less than a day passed, remember, before you fought the Red Death?"

"No… no, that was before I changed it. It's a long story."

"Or _is_ he an Outcast?" Tuffnut demanded. "He could have been an Outcast, with the plan of destroying Berk from the inside! Looks to me like someone has changed his allegiance. I knew this day would come. Seize him!"

"Traitor!" cried Ruffnut.

"Muttonheads!" Snotlout shot back. "Hiccup didn't join the Outcasts." He turned to me. "Uh… did you join the Outcasts with the plan of destroying Berk from the inside, Hiccup?"

Astrid turned toward him in exasperation. "Hiccup did not join the Outcasts, Snotlout!"

"How could you even think that?!" Fishlegs demanded.

"Yeah, I… I joined the Outcasts."

"No, after they captured Toothless, you got the rest of us on dragons and trained us to ride them… all in one day," Astrid insisted.

"Oh… I… I guess I dreamed it all." That confused me. "I was so sure that everything was changed. I hoped I could save the fleet, keep us out of danger, change this –" I pulled the blanket aside, gesturing to my leg. The prosthetic wasn't there, making my point even better. "But it didn't work," I said.

"Wait, I'm confused," Tuffnut broke in. "Did Hiccup join the Outcasts, or not?"

"Hiccup did not join the Outcasts!" Astrid insisted.

"But I would have… and I would have wrecked havoc on the village, if things had happened only a second differently. But it all would have worked out the same in the end."

"How?" questioned Snotlout.

"I don't know," I admitted. "We made different decisions, but with the same minds. It all happened almost the same, only after a long, hard time."

My dad sat down on the side of the bed, putting his huge hand over my non-bandaged one.

"You're right, Son. Despite circumstances, we have the same minds, the same hearts. I don't know if things would have really turned out the same way given a second's difference in conditions, but I do know that strong character will prevail. Now, tell me," he said, changing the subject, "how are you feeling?"

"A little confused," I replied. "In pain."

"That's what you get when you jump through a hole in a cave, twenty feet down to the jagged rocks below," Snotlout told me.

"But I also feel pretty good," I added. "My mind feels clear for the first time in weeks."

"And no wonder!" Gobber said. "After you smashed into the academy's wall several weeks back, you must have hit your head harder than we realized. You haven't exactly been yourself lately."

"I'm back now," I said, smiling a little. I sat up. "And I'm ready to get back out there."

"You're not going anywhere," my dad said. "Not until you're completely better."

"C'mon, Dad, I'm fine now."

He shook his head firmly. "We're not taking any risks this time. Gobber?"

Gobber held up my metal leg. "You're not getting this back until the chief says you can. And just in case you get any ideas of building a new one, Toothless here is assigned to make you rest."

Hearing his name, Toothless came up from behind the others. He saw me sitting up and pushed me back down. Then he licked my face over and over.

"Hey, Bud, great to see you too!" I laughed. "But you _know_ that doesn't wash out."

Astrid laughed softly as Toothless backed away. "It's great to have you back."

"And you don't even _know_ how glad I am to be back," I told her. "It feels like it's been a long, long time." I lifted my hand to my head, feeling the bandages on my face. "How many cuts do I _have_?" I asked.

"You look pretty beat up," Astrid said.

"Really?"

"Yeah," Tuffnut put in. "You look like someone just played a game of kick-bag with you and then you fought the Red Death, am I right?" He winked at me.

"You doofus!" Ruffnut blurted. She slammed his helmet. "You know we're not supposed to mention that!"

I jolted up to a sitting position again and looked at the twins, the color draining from my face. I hadn't told about them playing kick-bag with me.

"How… how did..." My voice trailed off. "You know, Dad, you're right. I think I need to rest a little while longer."

"Is everything alright, Hiccup?" he asked, as everyone except the twins looked concerned.

I looked around at them, gathered around. My family, my friends, all caring about me despite any mistakes I made. Toothless nudged me back down to a laying position.

My heart warmed as I spoke. "Yeah, Dad. Everything's alright. Everything worked out just fine."


End file.
